Wolverine's Son II
by RedFox2099
Summary: A continuation of Wolverine's son.
1. Chapter 1

_**Alright, team, me and- **_**Oliver and I. Get it right dipshit. ****_Alright Oliver and I had a long nap- _****maybe not to ya'll, but**_** – and we poured some work into this so have fun, read review. Most character's come from X2, with the exception of Sabretooth, who is from X-Men Origins. Logan is X2, but with blue eye, a fact I need to verify. OLIVER, NO! **_(-Embrace the psycho demon in all of us-)

Harley sighed as he swept the Danger Room floor trying to ignore James' consistent nagging and the countering and agreeing of Nikki. It wasn't their fault; yes James, we know. We all have our own vehicles; we? You two do, remember? Besides the point. You take my truck out all the time.

They had been in here for the last hour, cleaning. The trio had been charged with taking the X-van out, and with the strong telepathic protection around them, the Professor couldn't prove them innocent. He acted like they were guilty, but Harley knew what was going on. James' telepathic resistance looked like Harley and/or Nikki was blocking his mind off, but neither of them were, consciously.

So James either was telepathically resistant or his friends were unconsciously protecting his mind.

Regardless, the group was cleaning and it had taken a lot shorter than expected to clean up after the Wolverine. Confrontation with the Wolverine had been easier, too. When the Wolf-man came out of the trashed D.R., he wasn't surprised to see his son and friends standing there waiting; it helped he couldn't see or smell the cleaning supplies, due to a telepathic block on his vision. At least that's what was thought.

"Done," Harley loaded the last of some garbage on to a cart and starts to haul it out. Nikki and James load up the cleaning cart and follow Harley. They take the garbage to a trash chute and chuck it down, pausing before going on to hear the shit hit the bottom.

"Cart race, anyone?" Nikki asked. James was sour and Harley had been quiet since he came back from the Avengers. Harley smiled and jumped into his cart

"James, push me," he asked excitedly.

"Um, how 'bout 'no'?" James crossed his arms.

"Fine," Harley got out and looked at Nikki. "Three, two, one." The two took off, narrowly missing James, who run after them yelling that they could have ran him over.

"Cheese-dick, if we wanted to hit you we would've," Harley called over his shoulder, approaching a turn. Nikki pulled ahead of him. As she did she made a _suck it_ face and ran to the elevator. She mashed the button and the elevator came down just as James rounded the corner. Harley parked his cart beside Blondie's, which was parked outside, and hopped in the elevator just as the door was closing. He pushed the button for first floor, laughing.

"He's gonna be pissed," he managed between giggles.

"Think he'll take them up?" Nikki asked. The stairs were right beside the elevator, and the carts had to be dragged up them.

"Nah." Harley's mind drifted back to the cause of this mess. While he wasn't impartial to take a ride on his motorcycle, the idea that the three of them would take the X-van was ludicrous. He could picture himself on his bike; short brown hair and brown eyes concealed by the flame-painted helmet, scrawny frame wrapped in a brown leather jacket with the night air nipping through his clothes.

_If we weren't torturously confined to the mansion I say go for it, but.._ Oliver whined in Harley's head. Harley shook his head as if the get the pesky imp out of his head. It could just be him, but Oliver was... evolving into a more human creature. If Oliver was anything that had to be explained, he was the manifestation of that dark side in all of us. To Harley that was like Logan, arguing with Wolverine, the feral half of Logan that was kept contained.

_Ding!_ They had reached the first floor.

"Should we go help James?" Nikki asked already heading to the stairs. It was an obvious question.

"Sure," Harley shrugged. He was already following her and besides, he could sense Logan in his son's room and that was a hazardous thing.

Hypersensitive ears could pick up on James' struggle to carry one of the carts up the stairs. Harley snickered. His friend was halfway up. Grabbing a bit of the handle, Harley and Nikki helped Shizno pull the cart up, but in reality they were being a hindrance.

All in all, the three managed to get both carts up and put them away.

"I don't know about you, but I could use a Coke," James suggested, walking to the kitchen.

"Sure," Nikki followed.

"Maybe later," Harley shrugged. "Logan's waiting for me."

"Good luck," James called.

"Danke," Harley thanked in German. He began to slowly walk to his room. He sighed. _I think Xavier told him,_ Harley told Oliver.

_Oh, no doubt, _Oliver responded too cheerfully. _What do you think he'll do?_

_Unground me, _Harley replied. _Logan hates being confined so he might show some sympathy._

Harley doubted that, but you never know. Harley had been on many outside excursions that Logan might think it cruel to keep him trapped in the mansion. Or proper punishment. Either way, Fox would cope; he was used to the indoors and outdoors.

Opening the door to his bedroom and seeing his father, the fierce, feral, completely stupid when it came to technology, like phones, Wolverine playing Call of Duty 3 on Harley's Xbox One was mind boggling. He looked at me and was immediately killed.

"Damn, that's 'bout the hundredth time that's happened," he muttered. Harley motioned for the controller. Logan passed it to him. Harley ran, shot and knifed his way to a place of relative calm, before pausing.

"Didn't think I would catch you dead play COD," he stated.

"Huh?"

"Nothing, Dad. What are you in here for?"

"Been talkin' ta Chuck," Logan laid back on the bed.

"Yet I'm still here playing games," actually looking on his desk for his headphones. They were made special for Harley's hyper keen ears. James and Nikki had a pair too, each styled by the owner. Harley's were 's, but painted black. He plugged the little receiver into the controller and left the headset around his neck. He didn't resume the game.

"Yer stuck inside cleaning," Logan said. " Ain't that punishment enough for an outdoorsy pup, like yerself?"

_Not really,_ Oliver muttered.

_Shut it,_ Harley reprimanded.

"Besides, we both know you didn't do it," Logan continued, "I've heard ya and them other two go off at night either all in James' truck or them in the truck and you on yer bike. I ain't deaf, ya know. So I talked to Chuck and yer off, but gotta ask why hide?"

"We weren't," Harley explained. "At least not consciously. I do it automatically and I think Nikki does, too. As for James, he's either able to resist telepathy or we just block his mind off without knowing."

Logan just nodded.

"Harley," he started somewhat uneasy reluctant to say what he was about to say. He shook his head. "Do you want to go get some hot wings later? There's a small place where they're cheap. Ya can get a dozen for four dollars."

Needless to say this offer was tempting, but Harley could not only smell Logan's unease, but sense that that feeling was because Logan was hiding something.

Harley could've found out easily, but looking in Logan's mind bore some rather dangerous consequences. Not to mention considerable harder of late.

"Sure," he shrugged. His thought process hadn't taken long, so Logan couldn't possibly be thinking 'He know somethings. I wonder if he knows...'.

"Do ya think you can teach me to play one of those games you play with James?" Logan sat up. James and Harley played a lot of games together, sometime on one Xbox, sometimes separately. Logan sometimes watched before walking away muttering about how inaccurate the battles and other things were.

"Thought you didn't like them," Harley glanced at his father. "Said they're inaccurate."

"Well, they are," Logan shrugged. "But you enjoy 'em, so why not?"

"Got a beeter- beeter? Better idea," Harley began to shut off the One. He wanted to spend time with his father before Harley's latest scheme kicked off. "Wanna go for a ride?"

Logan nodded. To him that was a better plan, plus they could go to the restaurant afterwards. With his latest discovery, Logan would need to stay with Harley, just in case something undesirable happened. Like family. But he could only protect him for so long, before Logan left again.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Greetings and salutations, fellow human beings. A special thank you to all those who have stuck to this story. Your commitment does not go unappreciated. So as a thank you, this chapter contains a vote. Stick to 3**__**rd**__** person POV or go back to 1**__**st**__**. Your choice. Comment below. **_**Although we probably wouldn't get the results until two months from now when Harley has written seven chapter. ****_Not seven, more like four._**

James was in the Danger Room going through a new simulation Harley and Logan made. It was a drill on how to gather info in public places. His target was a Mike 'Blade' Babi. James knew the nickname Blade was not, not only Harley's work, but was earned due to Mike's work and skill in creating and using a variety of sharp weapons, from knives to swords.

James was in a bar. He had already been in the simulation for a hour today talking to various patrons. He had spent a total of 6 days, 4 hours, and some odd minutes in this simulation and was yet to finish it seeing as things were in real time and he had to wait in-sim to get his fake ID and other intel. His objective was get the location of a military bases that had telepathy blockers, but was also experimenting on humans and mutants alike.

He couldn't help, but feel this was both a reminder of what they, him, Nikki, and Harley would have to do one day, while it was also a way to point out mistakes the last time they did something like this.

The only other alternative was the fact that they were developing a new branch of X-men. He along with Harley, Nikki, Logan, and several others were going to be new Solos. It was their job, to mingle with society and found out about things that might endanger mutants or human or the entire world. It was certainly exciting when they found out that they would be doing something important for once.

After another hour of sim time, James order the simulation to be suspended and went

up to the control room.

Logan was there waiting for him, sitting in a stool.

"Did good, kid, but you can't just walk out when ya wanna," Logan puffed on his cigar. James decided to point out the ironic hypocrisy in Logan's statement.

"Yeah, I guess," James rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Hey, Logan?"

"Yeah, kid?"

"Harley... have you found out anything about.. you know?" James asked. His friend had been quiet recently and while James would love to think that Fox was growing up and maturing, he knew that wasn't it. Harley hadn't exactly embrace the concept of having little known kin. And a depressed Harley wasn't the most welcoming idea. He had once walked two and a half hours to get to James house to be cheered up.

If they weren't careful, and pushed Harley over his limit, there would be hell to pay. James could vividly imagine Harley walking out and not coming back for a month, while he went out to fix the problem himself. And that solution would get him hurt or killed. The stakes were higher now, with FOH, Magneto, and other enemies the boy had inherited and attracted by being an X-man.

Logan sighed and looked down.

"No," he mumbled. He seemed uneasy.

"You're hiding something," James accused. Days in the Danger Room on how to tell when people are hiding and how to extract info didn't amount to nothing. "What?"

"Nothing that concerns you," Logan growled as he stood up. James was taken aback.

_He's hiding something,_ he thought.

"You found something, didn't you?" James narrowed his eyes. "Have you told Harley?"

"Shut up," Logan said angrily. "If you say anything-"

"Dad! Cheese-dick!" a voice called. "Hey it's dinnertime."

Logan took one last pissed off look at James before pushing past him to get to Harley. James followed suit. Even James knew he shouldn't tell Harley Logan was hiding family matters from him. But he didn't think he could keep the secret for long.

Fortunately, James and Nikki were taking a vacation down south to see their families.

He wondered when Logan would spill, but the conversation that was going on between father and son gave no hint of a turn for the darker.

Something hard to do with Harley; him being a _fucking bat-shit crazy mother fucker who didn't need fire or anything flammable, being a pyromaniac. _Plus Harley had shared his conversation about ferals with Hank to them. If he hadn't been told he would've never spotted the differences. Harley had always been the same, maturing slightly as the years passed.

(X)

Dinner was a simple affair. Harley babbled constantly about the differences in winter weather between Florida and New York. Nikki offered to light a fire using New York

as fuel, but that was just her. Manhattan would look better in ashes. After dinner Nikki volunteered to help do the dishes with Ororo, but half of her was against it. She and James were leaving tomorrow and experience taught her that James didn't know how to pack. She had had to go and put some extra stuff in his and Harley's bags when they left X-force. Men were dunces.

Dishes were easy despite there being many. Lillian had came in half way through to help. She, Nikki, and Storm talked about the things girls do. In the end everyone left happy, having enjoyed a wonderful conversation. Nikki stuffed her wrinkle hands in her pockets on her way to her room. James had ruined dinner.

Nikki couldn't help, but to admit that she wasn't surprised to hear Logan was hiding something, not just from Harley, but the rest of the X-men as well. They all cared about each other and that's what made Nikki stay. It was nice to have a family environment, even if it was away from her real family.

But she still wanted to go to college, even if Santa Fe couldn't be the one she went to. Girlie had dreams, and college was a milestone towards them. Unfortunately, being a mutant stopped her for reasons she couldn't quite grasp.

"James, are you packed?" she asked as she opened the door to his room.

"Almost," James threw some socks and then zipped up the duffer bag. "Do you need help?"

"Not from you," Nikki replied. "I'm already packed."

"Okay," James shrugged. "Better go to bed than."

"Hey, James?" Nikki asked timidly, looking at the ground. "Do you want to go on a recon mission?"

"We're about to leave and you want to go off somewhere?" James looked at her incredulously, unable to believe her.

"_Shut up, moron,_" Nikki reprimanded. "_I meant in to Logan's head!_"

"_What do you need me for than?_" he replied.

"_Look-out,_" Nikki thought rather smugly. Than she turned and went out the door.

With a sigh, James followed. Nikki never understood why the boys followed her or why she followed them, but she never thought about it.

Now sneaking up to a mutant with hyper-senses posed several problems. One was the senses of hearing and smell. For a powerful telepathy, the senses could be confused, by screwing with the brain's interpretation of nerves. The next problem was that in a school of mutant kids, there was no telling who could get nosy and come investigate. Nikki couldn't block all of them out of the duo's business.

"_James, go find Harley,_" Nikki commanded. It was a precaution. Harley could come looking for her, James, or Logan. Sending James should, at least, temporarily distract Harley from walking upon a prying Nikki, who was crouched in the room next to Logan's.

Logan had asked for a room away from occupied ones. Harley had asked for the same and was put next to Logan, neither knew at the time of the relationship.

Nikki screwed up her eyes and focused on Logan's thoughts. The process of hiding herself was already giving her a headache, but it could be worth it.

"_I wouldn't do that,_" a voice rang in her head. "_Logan is hiding something for a reason._"

"_Do you know what it is, Professor?_" Nikki asked.

"_Yes,_" Charles answered. "_Which is why his thoughts are blocked._"

"_So Harley, or somebody else, or I couldn't read them?_"

"_Correct._"

Nikki realized she had been asking the wrong questions."_So what is it?_"

"_I can't tell you,_" Nikki could almost hear the sad smile on Xavier's face. "_All I can say is have a nice trip._"

Nikki sighed then got up and headed to her room. James and Harley were playing one last game, Nikki didn't care which, so she saw no point in interrupting them. Logan, however had, literally, gotten whiff of her presence.

"Girlie," he called out to her retreating back. Nikki nostrils flared; Logan had picked up Harley's nickname for her. "Whadda ya out here for?"

"Nothing, Logan," Nikki turned. "Go back to bed."

"Kinda hard ta when people are bein' nosy," Logan crossed his arms. It was clear to Nikki that he was enjoying her surprised reaction. Heightened sense of smell told her that. "Didn't hear you in Short-knives' room. Figured ya were up to sumpthin'. Lemme guess..."

Nikki gulped as Logan paused. _Why does he have to be so fucking smart?_ She asked herself for not the first time. Logan knew more than he should about people and Blondie knew Harley couldn't have to him that much.

"You were tryin' ta get in here, weren't'cha?" Logan tapped his temple. "Well, were you?"

Nikki didn't answer, an unusually action on her part. Instead she set her face flat and emotionless.

"Maybe," she shrugged. "Is there something up there of use or value to me?"

Logan's eyes widened slightly at her back handed insult; he hadn't expected it from Nikki.

"No, not to ya," Logan shrugged as he turned back into his room. "But if there was you could've just asked. I would've told ya."

"And now?" Nikki asked picking up his usage of past tense. He didn't answer, just shut the door and ignored her. "And now?"

Nikki huffed; she wasn't going to get anymore, but that was fine. She would try later. Right now, she had a vacation in front of her and week to plan her strategy.

(X)

Logan growled to himself. He was a grown man with a son, damnit! He shouldn't have to tell people everything. Secrets were necessary, sometimes, and even then only certain people were told. Harley wasn't going to be one of them. Which was why Logan had asked Chuck to block his mind until Wolverine had a telepathy blocker. And speaking of Wolverine...

Logan was in desperate need of taking a trip in to the mountains, away from society to let his wild side free. The X-men could go with out him for a month, Harley could take over his classes, and a month would be more than enough time for the blocker to get to the mansion. But there was another reason he wanted to leave.

A woman.

He had only told Xavier so far, but that was all who needed to know. He had no clue how Harley would react to a potential mother figure or the fact his father was playing the dating game.

Logan snickered at his thoughts, then chugged down the full can of beer on his nightstand. He had meant it when he said he would tell Girlie his secret; she would keep it, plus she would probably know how to handle the situation with Short-knives. Logan couldn't help but to notice his thoughts had been more on his pup since the bomb incident, even more so when he had first found out about his new role as a parent.

Logan considered himself a good parent. He drank, but didn't get drunk, which was impossible, he hardly yelled at the kid, but that was because Harley was somewhat responsible, and in all fairness, made crucial counterarguments that pointed out that whatever he did was for some good. However, Logan couldn't take credit for his son's behavior; he had been raised by someone else.

But Nikki and James both agreed with Logan. Not that they knew for course, but when Harley first revealed his true parentage to James, and then later Nikki, Logan eavesdropped.

"_James, are you okay?" Harley's voice was muffled by the walls of X-force base._

"_Yeah, I'm fine," James said. Given the fact that he had been screaming when the team had found him, and being telepathically subdued by Harley hours ago, he still sounded hoarse, so Logan thought that that was how he sounded._

"_Why? Where am I?" James asked. Logan felt a curious stirring. It was one he always felt when the name 'James' was invoked._

"_James, do you remember me telling you about mutants?"_

"_Yeah..."_

"_Well, I'm one of them."_

"_Me, too? Is that why there are knives in my fist?"_

"_No, but we think somebody put my DNA into you and somehow you have my claws, healing, and super senses."_

"_How?"_

"_We don't know."_

"_Wait, don't mutants have to have a parent to make the offspring a mutant?"  
"Sometimes, yes. Congrats on remembering the bio lesson. Other times, it just happens."_

"_So what about you?"_

"_James... That's a story for later." Harley sighed. Logan could imagine him looking down at the ground. But, James, knew better._

"_Which parent?"_

"_Father."_

"_The one in Pensacola?"_

"_No. My biological one."_

_Silence._

"_Look, Jimmy-"  
"What's he like?" James interjected._

"_I dunno," Harley sighed again. "He doesn't get on to me much."_

"_Yeah, but that's because your mother- Did she adopt you? Well, that's because she was crazy strict."_

"_I suppose. Look, I gotta go."_

_Logan took this as his cue to haul ass away from the room the two were in._

Logan threw one last shirt in his bag, before throwing the bag over his shoulder. It was time to leave. But first...

"Harley," Logan opened Fox's door slowly. Since they had came back to the mansion Harley had taken to some decorating. He had taped a large hand drawn picture of a dragon's eye on the door, making it seem like passer-by's were being studied. Logan liked the effect it had on others and short of putting out a lawn chair, he would watch people scurry by startled by the drawing.

Harley was lying on his bed watching an old rerun of _The Rifleman. _

"Oh, hey, Dad," He sat up.

"I'm leavin' for a month," Logan deadpanned.

"Okay, did you leave lesson plans?" An evil grin cracked the teen's face. "Or do I get to chase your class down again?"

Logan smirked. He could hardly believe that the first time Harley had Logan's class that he had made the students run through the wood, find the creek that was inside, and all while avoiding being tackled by Harley or the other students. Afterwards, he began to understand why others called his son crazy.

"No, I left plans, but if you want to.." Logan smiled.

"How long are you going to be gone?" Harley asked.

"A month."

"Ah," was the only response. "Well, safe travels."

"Yeah," Logan left the boy's room, closing the door behind him. He had a nagging feeling of suspicion, but nothing he could act upon. He had to go the sooner the better.

(X)

Harley listened as Logan's truck pulled out and away. Isn't terribly cold out; enough to stick a jacket on and go for a bike ride. But first...

"_Hey, Tips you are ready?_" Harley called.

"_Yeah,_"

"_Meet you in the garage._" Harley opened his window and took the screen out. He crawled out and stood on the ledge outside. He replaced the frame. Hugging the wall, Fox shuffled over to a place where to vines were thick and climbed down. He raced to the garage, sensing Tips was doing the same. It was a race of sorts. Harley mashed the garage door opener before he was at the door and slid in when the door was halfway up.

Before he even stood up he pushed the button again and scurried to the door that led into the mansion. Soon the door open and Harley sprang up and kissed Tips.

"You cheated," Lillian pouted, breaking away. She had recently dyed her tips purple and was dubbed 'Tips'.

"Still got my prize," Harley grinned.

"Unfairly," she smiled back. "How did you know Logan was leaving?"

Their rides were spontaneous, and often depended on when Logan would be out. The last thing either of them wanted was Logan making suggestive jokes and comments to the couple. _Sure, Dad. We sneak off to go have sex or something,_ Harley could imagine his response.

They stuck their helmets on and got on Harley's motorcycle.

"Wanna do the honors?" Harley asked, pulling his teleporter out of his jacket. The garage door had been opened enough times; teleportation outside would mean that no one would come looking for them. They were very cautious and took no to little risks getting out to where they were heading. Once there, it would be a different story.

Twisting roads and hills put the two at a stretch of road, where all the house on it were abandoned. This was where the races were.

"Bet generously on me, darlin'," Harley teased through his helmet.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Lily pulled her helmet of and shook her head. "I will."

"Right," Harley nodded. "See ya."

An explanation is needed. Harley had one day decided to use his Solo knowledge in real life and discovered a motorcycle race. So he entered in a couple, and won and then invited Lillian to start betting on him. However they had a secret: telepathy. If a race was getting close and the bets were high, they slipped some 'Slow down!' thoughts in to the other races head. But for the most part the played it clean and Harley enjoyed the races, while Lily reveled in the new clothes she bought with the winnings and betting money, which they spilt.

(X)

Three hours and a stop at a Beef O'Brady's later, the two finally got home. The race was a simple affair, as was dinner, now came the complicated part.

"Sleep with me?" Harley asked. It was a complicated question: his bed, her bed, or alone, not to mention the potential consequences afterwards. Like smelling Lily all night and having to sneak out of her room, or the same first part, but have her sneak out. And alone afterwards was the easiest of choicest, but to Harley, pleasure was lost. And not sex, but the things only a feral could enjoy. Scents and feels.

"Not tonight," Lillian yawned.

"Okay," Harley tried to disguise his relief with disappointment. "Probably for the better."

" 'Night," she waved over her shoulder.

"Yeah, G'night," Harley answered back. He sighed before reaching into his motorcycle's saddle bag and pulling out a bag of clothes. A few days' worth, rolled up. Under the seat were some more, in total adding up to enough clothes for a week.

_So, we're really doing this? _Oliver asked.

_No, dumbass, we're going to Japan, _Harley snapped.

_A motorbike seems to be an impractical method of travel across an ocean, but if you want to drown, be my guest. _Oliver replied happily.

Harley snorted. He hadn't turned his bike off reason, nor closed the garage door either. He hopped on the chopper and rolled out.

His destination? A place in Canada.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Yawn, Oliver why do we type so late? **_**You'd be insulted if I answered that. ****_Oliver, where did I put the password the new story I'm writing? _****I don't know. **_**Oliver what-? **_**If you asked me one of damned thing, I'm going to shove a pole down your throat, bind you, douse your clothes with gas, light them, and threw you off the Empire State Building.****_ Oliver, how do you plan to get there so quickly, when we live days away, via car trip? *_****Growls***

Open road, fast food, and stops for bathroom were the only things so far in Harley's trip; sleeping was not a necessity; his healing factor staved off most of the fatigue. He had long ago bought a GPS and was discouraged to find his trip would take four days as the crow flies. He imagined if Logan was in charge of route planning it would take weeks for them to arrive.

However it was just Harley and Oliver, who was a very good planner.

_Don't get gas at every station, _he chided earlier on. So Harley purchased a gas can and it was hanging from the side of the motorcycle, with a chain through the handle and a recently cut hole in the seat with a lock so it wouldn't be stolen.

Oliver wanted to stay in America as long as possible; Harley knew he would feel uneasy going in to Canada, as it was not home territory. His father might have been Canadian, but Harley was American from the tips of his toes to somewhere in his neck. He had no problem with having the cold mountains in his blood, but he preferred the various land types in America, especially the beach.

_Mmm, the warm, sandy, wet beach, _Oliver commented. Harley smiled his mind drifting to memories.

He was almost there, and could possible make it tonight, but he decided to pull in somewhere and stop.

He found a quaint motel and bought a room. He had no problems with the woman at the counter, merely using his telepathy to hide his features and made himself appear as Logan to her.

Half an hour later found Harley knocked out on the bed, curled up, covered with blankets.

"_Nikki!" he cried incredulously looking at the monitor. One of his best friends was in New York and had telepathy. James immediately summed up the whole scenario: "I smell bullshit."_

"_Ditto," Harley nodded. "C'mon."_

"_Where are we going?"_

_No response. Harley just headed out of the room and into their shared room at X-force HQ._

"_Are we going to see Nikki?"_

"_No, dumbass," Harley called. "We going to take you to the luney bin to get your head checked."_

_James sighed and put his shoes on. "You're the crazy one here."_

"_No, I'm the one who's actually mature."_

"_We've got to get _your_ head checked."_

Harley woke with a start. It made him sad to see Nikki in such a negative state, but that didn't matter now. What currently mattered was the fact that it was two 'o' clock and he had fifty miles to go. Not much time for Harley to finalize his plans for the week, but the general details were done. Stephan King once wrote, "It's a long walk to Eden, so don't sweat the small stuff."

What a shame that that was exactly what Harley did, like, fourth best. Below sleeping, fighting, and eating.

_Speaking of food, _Oliver suggested. _Can you stop for some waffles?_

It wasn't a bad idea.

(X)

Two hours and half a dozen waffles from IHOP later, Harley had finally arrived at his destination.

It was down a long dirt road an hour away from any towns or people in general. Woods surrounded the property, which Harley had no clue as the how many acres that might be.

The sight Harley enjoyed the most was the large cabin. It was your stereotypical two story cabin. _Very quaint, _Harley thought.

Next to it was your average red barn. From the noises coming from it, Harley would've guessed chickens, cows, and pigs. Oddly, there was a bulky motorcycle, parked under a lean-to that had been constructed against the barn, out of wood supports and a tin roof.

Suddenly, a growl came from the porch of the cabin.

_Sabretooth,_ Oliver identified calmly.

_Got it,_ Harley answered just as well.

Sabretooth let out a roar and pounced towards Harley, who dodged it calmly. Sabretooth barely went three feet before turning around and jumping at Harley, who hadn't even unsheathed his claws. His adversary slashed, but all he caught was air. Harley had rolled quite a distance and immediately began sling knives, most hitting. Sabretooth roared again and charged Harley, who finally unsheathed his claws. Harley took Sabretooth's shoulder to the stomach, but instead of reacting in pain, he maneuvered so he was on Victor's back and began stabbing repeatedly. Sabretooth hollered and dropped back, trying to crush Harley, who didn't see the trick in time.

The two wrestled dealing serious damage to each other, before they got separated. Harley's face was downcast and his opponent couldn't see his eyes.

"Time to face the consequences," Victor growled approaching. As he stood in front of his new, but temporary play toy he caught a whiff of some odd rage. Growling his swiped, but his hand was blocked, by Fox's.

Fox looked up and glared through blue eyes. With a shout, he pulled Victor closer and began massacring his midsection with precise blows to pierce Vic's heart. Sabretooth pushed the kid back, unsure of what had happen. Fox ran at Sabretooth and began to swipe accurately and Victor began concentrating on blocking the deadly blows.

He had knew the kid was good, but this was something else.

He had to end this before he got killed.

Sabretooth grabbed the kid who wiggled out of his grasp. He watched in fascination as the boy flipped backwards, giving him another glare. There was no emotion on his face or those blue eyes. Victor charged; only to be dodged. But he saw the move coming a stuck out an arm to snag the kid and put him beneath him. Harley struggled useless; Victor had his arms caught in one giant hand and was using his body weight to subdue the small mutant.

"Enough," he barked.

The kid stopped and closed his eyes. When he opened them again they were brown.

"Ya done?" Victor snarled.

"Perhaps," Harley said plainly. He blinked. "Are you going to get off?"

"Perhaps," Victor mocked.

"Move, you oaf," with surprising strength, Victor was pushed off.

"Yer daddy just let you come?" Victor was not going to stop teasing the kid in any way. He enjoyed the fight and was itching for more, but there was something else he wanted of the brat.

"Burn in hell," Harley insulted. "No, Logan didn't let me come he doesn't even know I'm here."

"Why are you here?" Victor asked.

"You had an offer," Harley shrugged as he began scouring the ground for his knives. "You have something I want to know."

"Family," Sabretooth stated.

"Yes," Harley found a knife and wiped it on his tattered sleeve, before sticking in his sock. "Family."

"Ya don't hafa lot," Victor grunted. "Come inside."

"Uno momento, porvor," Harley rattled still hunting for knives.

Sabretooth grunted and watched. The brat was sure of his movements. Victor was surprised, that the kid fought well, despite his small size.

"How old are ya?" Victor asked already knowing the answer.

"Old enough to drive," Harley snapped. "Try to figure that out without frying your brain."

Victor smirked. "Sixteen. Got a girl?"

Harley's eyes filled with rage. "Yeah, I do. And she had a bone to pick with you, so next time we fight, I ain't gonna hold my berserker back."

The brat's duality gets another chuckle from Creed. _He's still riled up, but he trying' to contain it, _he thinks. _He'll be fun to fuck with._

But there's a small part of Victor, telling him 'no', that he was more important matters with the the brat.

"Ya were only going half-hearted on me?" Creed pouted. "Shame, I was just startin' to have fun. Maybe next time we'll draw out our little dual."

"Sounds like a jolly old time," Harley smiled, bu Victor could smell that it was fake. He had picked up all his knives and was ready to continue with this animal of a man.

Victor smirked inwardly. "Hurry yer ass up, I'm hungry."

"Don't wait on me," Harley said. "I might just watch you starve to death."

_I don't think he means any of the things he says,_ Victor thought.

Harley followed Victor inside and Victor could tell he was taking in his surroundings.

Simple furniture, a brick fireplace, a bear skin rug on a wood floor and stairs in the corner leading to more rooms. The kitchen was tiled and clean. Harley was surprised to see a fridge and oven.

"Deer?" Victor asked opening the freezer side of the fridge.

"Yes," Harley smiled. _Mmm, venison,_ Oliver agreed.

(X)

Dinner had been a stunning contrast to the ones Harley was used to. There were no words exchange and even afterwards nothing was said, so Harley took to the couch and slept there.

He thought he would be uneasy with sleeping in a new place, but he wasn't. Instead he drifted to a dreamless sleep easily. The place was... familiar somehow. It was unerring to Harley, who found he couldn't breach Victor's mind.

Harley tried not to pay it much heed, but his mind wandered. But fatigue and sleep fought off those thoughts.

When he woke up the next morning, he had to pat himself on the back for not freaking out when he saw Sabretooth standing over him, eyes seeming to study Fox, as if they were hunter and prey. Harley just hoped Victor didn't think the same.

"Da hell are ya doin'?" Harley slurred covering his eyes.

"Was decidin' on how ta wake ya up," Victor shrugged, moving the boy's feet, so he could sit on the couch. "But you did that on ya own."

"Humph," was Harley's only response. He hated the familiarity of the house that haunted him. Hated more so, the atmosphere between him and Victor.

His uncle.

He ran those words through his head, even filtering them through Oliver and the other inhabitants of his mind. Lillian and Logan would like to see Sabretooth dead. Nikki wasn't partial to murder in any way. James would have thought that if the bastard had given Harley a reason to kill him, he should take it.

He shook all these thoughts off and realized Vic was talking.

"- woods and hunt, maybe show ya some old tricks," he stretched out, putting his hands behind his head and looking at his nephew. "Whadda ya say?"

_Yes,_ Oliver said immediately after piecing together what was being offered.

_No, _Harley countered, thinking of a certain, blonde somebody, who wanted revenge.

"Okay," Harley nodded.

"Assumin' ya don't scare everything away," Victor teased.

"Burn in hell," Harley said in an serious manner. "Let's go."

And he was out the front door, before Sabretooth could say anything else.


	4. Chapter 4

_**As I am my school tech guy, i have a closet full of cords, keyboards, mice, and other things. So I sitting in said closet away from the BS that is humanity when I decided to post.**_

**I'm in charge now, runts, so listen up. ****_Oliver, drop the act. If anyone was to be in charge it would be Jack Daniel. _****What are you suggesting? ****_That even though I don't drink, you're making me want to. _****Then I'm doing my job. ****_*sigh* On to the story. _****You have to transfer those files. ****_Oh, right, then on to the story!_**

It had been almost two weeks since Harley had arrived on Victor Creed's property, but neither party was complaining. Sabretooth had taught Harley some move, the brat's favorite was the one where he dropped and ran on all fours. Victor learned that Harley was good with tech and other whatnots, like knot tying and thinking up tortures.

He had learned that part the hard way, when he had challenged the kid to do his worst, and after losing a battle that consist of a lot of arson on his nephew's part. He had been knocked unconscious and woke up chained to a tree branch by his feet, while the kid used him as a target for his knives, and not to mention the fire that was blazing beneath him, emitting heat that hurt and smoke that blinded, while also getting into his lungs and choking him.

_Save that one for the books, _Victor thought afterwards, as he was chasing Fox through the woods for the mere hell of it, enjoying both the run and the smell of fear and then later amusement coming from the kid.

But now Creed had a mercenary mission to attend to and the kid was still here.

"Hey," he said as he sat on the couch beside Harley, who was reading one of the old manuscripts he had found.

"Hey," responded Harley, not looking up.

"I gotta job tomorrow," Victor said, studying his nephew's face. "I'm leavin' tomorrow and won't be back 'til the next day. Don't burn the place down."

"Try not to," Harley had shown no reaction to the news that he was being left alone, but he had responded, so Creed knew he was paying attention.

"Right. 'Night," he stood up.

"'Night," Harley still didn't look up and indifference was leaking out of him. Victor leaned down and licked the cub's cheek.

This had been something of a departure ritual, much like saying 'bye. The first time Creed had done since the kid had come, Harley was disgusted, but the gesture grew on him. Victor figured the brat wasn't too in to touch with his feral side, but he understood the things Victor did perfectly and didn't say a word. Or gave off a scent hinting at confusion or disgust when Victor sniffed at the kid after a mock fight or when he bite into a fresh deer corpse after hunting it down.

Guess he had forgotten how things worked.

(X)

Harley yawned. He had moved into one of the three bedrooms in the cabin. The first was the master bedroom, where Victor slept. There was another room, but it had been blocked off. Sealed from the inside and then the outside. How Creed did it, Harley had no clue.

What was important right now, was the messages on his phone. He had shut it off, in hopes that it couldn't be tracked and when he had turned it on, Fox discovered several messages. Lillian, James, Nikki, and the school, asking the same thing: "Where are you? When are you coming back?"

One was from Logan.

"Hey, kid," Logan's voice came from the phone. He was drunk, or close to it. "There somthin' I need to tell ya.

"I've been keepin' my mind shut off and, yeah, I got some help keeping you out. 'course, Chuck was that help, but that don't matter right know. What does is why. Why I hid my thoughts and what am I hidin'. I ain't gunna tell ya, but..."

Harley could hear Logan taking a couple gulps of something, most likely whiskey.

"It important to ya, and important to me, but I can't tell ya. Not yet. Neither of us would make sense of it, but I'm tryin' ta before I tell ya, so bear with me. Could be family. Know you value that. I guess ya need somethin' to stand for, but, well, like I said we don't know yet how things are or what to do next, as you told me.

"I'll be home for Christmas- *hiccup*."

The message ended.

Harley knew Christmas was in a couple weeks, four, so he should start heading back, but he had grown fond of Victor, and Sabretooth seemed a bit possessive so it might be hard to leave. He hoped Victor wouldn't give him the same hell he gave Logan when he left Victor.

Blood came first.

_Blood..._ Oliver moaned.

_Fucking psychotic demon,_ Harley thought. _I knew you've been enjoying the fights with Vic, but we've gotta go back soon._

_Okay, but after Sabretooth comes back._

_Fine,_ Harley was mildly satisfied with this agreement.

(X)

A door busted open as Harley was making dinner. Blood, sweat, an couple other nasty odors were piled on top of Victor's scent, but Harley was still able to pick it up.

"You-" Harley was cut off by: "Go run me a bath now."

"But, dinner-"

"I SAID NOW!" Victor roared.

Hiding his fear, Harley walked up to the bath, purposely not running, thinking it might give Sabretooth thoughts that Harley was a coward,even though Harley knew that disobeying might anger Victor even more.

As he ran hot water into the tub upstairs, Fox could hear Victor stomping around down below.

"It's full," Harley called. He averted his eyes when he realized that Creed was wearing nothing.

Harley slipped out as his uncle slipped in and rushed downstairs to finish dinner.

(X)

Victor growled as he washed the blood off of himself. Most of it wasn't his, but the drops that were irritated him. Victor had become a target again. Harley had become a target again.

He drained the tub and turned the shower head on, with freezing cold water gushing out. He growled even louder as he thought harder. He needed to watch the brat, he needed to give him the binder, and he need Stryker to...

With a roar Victor turned and punched the wall as if it was the wall's fault for putting the name in his head. He was going to protect the kid, not help Stryker get him. He had gotten him once and Harley didn't need to be dragged into this mess more.

Victor knew about the brat's friends, who were subjected to experimentation with Harley's DNA, he knew what was planned for his... nephew and as cold and as heartless Victor could be, the brat was his and he wasn't going to stand by and watch.

(X)

Harley heard a loud noise, but didn't think anything of it. He was making plates for him and his uncle. He would explain that he was leaving tomorrow, tell Sabretooth that he would try to come back, and make sure he wouldn't follow Harley home.

_With any luck,_ Oliver giggled. _We could have one more fight._

Harley smiled and shook his head. But the grin faded. He was going to have to get rid of the clothes he brought here and get new ones. Not to mention drowned himself in soap to get rid of Creed's scent on him.

Footsteps from the stairs woke Harley out of his reverie.

"Hey, I made pork chops," he held out the plate, which contained a half a dozen, small, hardly cooked chops, to Sabretooth, who looked at it.

"We need ta talk, Harley," Victor grunted, not meeting Fox's eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Christ, guys, so I'm writing during Christmas break and actually I think this is only the third or fourth time I've been able to. I got a new computer, but it won't edit files from my USB. Something about 'read-only'. **_**Which is bullshit. ****_At the same time, my sister has been using my laptop, so I can't get on as often, _****which translates to – Writing is getting done, but slowly, so pardon us for posting irregularly, shitheads.**_** Oliver, don't insult them. **_***Growl***

Harley followed Victor up to the attic. He watched, curious of what was about to happen. Victor opened the trap door leading up.

"Stay here," he growled when Harley stepped forward. Victor climbed up and Harley could hear the sounds of boxes and other things being moved.

"Up."

Harley climbed up. It was dusty, and there were odds scents. One of them his. Various boxes and covered furniture crowded the room. The only light was that coming from a window.

"I can smell-"

"Yerself? Yeah, probably drifted up here," Victor said digging in one of the boxes in a corner.

"I'm leaving tomorrow," Harley blurted out after watching his uncle go through three more boxes. He prepared himself for a sharp response or even a fight, but he didn't get either. Victor just snarled and kept digging. "Did you hear me?"

"I heard ya," Victor grunted. "And I don't care."

_He's lying,_ Harley could smell it

"Okay, so why are we up here?" _Glossing over that one now, aren't we? _Oliver snicked.

"Want ya to have something," Victor said as he found what he was looking for, but he didn't take it out. Instead he went to a different box and pulled out red wrapping paper and tape. Harley could hear bobbles and ornaments being moved while Victor did this and thought _Didn't know Vic did Christmas._

"Here," Harley was handed a wrapped binder. He could tell it was a binder because of it size and it wasn't a complete rectangular prism.

"Christmas?" Harley asked.

"Yeah," Victor said after a moment of silence, then he turned. "I want ya out of my face tomorrow. And no coming back 'til I want ya ta."

"Okay," Harley answered confused.

"And don't open that until Christmas,"

(X)

True to his word Harley left early the next morning. Victor was up before him, but he didn't interact. All he did was sit on the roof and watch as Harley drove away.

Thoughts had plagued Harley's mind. Logan's drunk call. Victor's binder. Stryker. Stryker...

Harley skidded to the side of the road and roared.

"That nefarious bastard," He had fucked up James and Nikki, who should've led normal lives. Then fucked over Wolverine, who had to hide from Weapon-X and up until recently couldn't remember anything of his past life.

And he had used Victor. That last part was a recent discovery. Harley had mentioned Stryker during the return trip from a hunt, and Sabretooth had lost it.

"Don't ever say his name," he pounced on Harley, who panicked and popped his claws. "He will kill you!"

Harley had pushed the beastly man off and backed away, while Victor glared and breathed heavily.

"Let's go," Victor growled as he headed to the cabin, with Harley following hesitantly.

Harley growled, then stopped. He had changed in the past two weeks to something more wild. Growling, roaring, and thirsting for blood weren't your average adjectives for Harley.

_Well, growling, yes. _Oliver pointed out. _And blood lust. Have you heard your threats?_

_Good point,_ Harley kicked off and began his way back to the mansion, hoping that he could keep his thoughts away from everything problematic in his life.

_Looks like we're back to no caffeine and chocolate, _Harley sighed inwardly.

_Yeah, last thing we need are anxiety attacks, _Oliver added. _I wonder how that would effect your fighting style and telepathy._

_It shouldn't,_ Harley replied.

(X)

Logan sighed. He had gotten a call from the X-Men. Harley had skipped town again. Logan was pretty sure he was just down south, in Florida, enjoying the warmer temperatures and his adopted family. But why didn't he just go with James and Nikki?

He didn't want to think about. Maybe he should stop leaving too. The kid was his to a high point and that include mysterious trips away. He knew Fox would get out of almost any dangerous situation, but it was that 'almost' that said to Wolverine: "Danger."

And that was why he was on his way back to the mansion, hoping to be there before his son got back. If he got there after, he wouldn't say anything; Harley had been safe and that was good, but Logan had found something out about the kid.

His faulty healing factor.

He had seen Harley's stomach after the alien bomb. It had healed all but random spots of skin. Blisters, McCoy called them. Fox's healing had taken care of the rest, but the blisters had popped before being healed and then couldn't.

Harley had covered his pain well and even kept up with regular Danger Room sessions. Logan canceled all fight training with him until he could no longer smell injuries. He had to thank the Professor, who had been blocking Logan's mind and even went as far as to trick Harley's telepathy into think it had been blocking Logan's ability to smell him, which was no small feat, but it meant Harley was lowering his guard around the mansion.

He hated when the kid did that because he couldn't read the kid too well.

(X)

Harley had planned everything. It took six days to get back, with each day another phase.

Day One: get rid of old clothes. They had Sabretooth's scent on them. So Harley dropped the intact one off at a Goodwill, brought new ones, and the ones that weren't deemed good enough were burned.

Day Two: relax in a sauna for two hours, go to a hotel soak in cologne, and then go back to the sauna.

Day Three: camp in the woods with no deodorant.

Day Four: sleep in a motel, this time washing with homemade lye soap from home.

Day Five: travel and at night repeat what happened yesterday.

Day Six: arrive at the mansion.

It was a flawless plan, at least to Harley, who had a sound understanding of how acute Logan's sense of smell was. And he was back before Logan was. Nikki and James had arrived almost two weeks earlier. Lillian was relieved when he came back.

Logan arrived two days later and after a private bear hug in the woods, which Harley was sure served as an excuse to scent him to see if Fox had been in danger, or around Sabretooth or one of the other enemies Wolverine had accumulated and Fox had inherited.

"Hey, Dad," Harley greeted as he hugged his father back. Logan stopped his sniffing.

"Hey," he grunted, then pulled away. "Been trainin'?"

"Yep," Harley nodded.

"Yeah?" Logan put his face in his son's, a clear sign of a challenge.

"Yeah," Harley's face hardened. "Bet I could kick your ass."

Logan backed off chuckling, "Bet ya could."

"Hey, Dad?" Harley started.

"What?"

"Your mind... Are you blocking telepaths?" Harley asked, mystified. He couldn't even begin to breach Logan's mind.

"Yeah," Logan shrugged, playing it off, knowing his son might smell his lying and nervousness. "Figured with all the telepaths runnin' around, I wanted some protection. And it's gettin' close to Christmas, didn't want ya guessin' yer gifts."

"Gifts?" Harley asked, eyebrows furrowed, smiling.

"Yeah, had to get ya something," Wolverine inwardly sighed with relief, glad Harley hadn't commented on the blocker. Of course his son didn't know it was a blocker, after all Logan was telepathically resistance and the blocker only made sure nothing got into his brain.

"Oh, want do you want for Christmas?" Harley asked.

"Hmm, nothing," Logan smiled.

Harley grinned even more. "Okay, well, I got things I need to do," and he walked away.

Logan watched him leave, before walking off in a different direction. Harley was heading to the mansion, and Logan was heading deeper into the forest.

Harley knew something was off about his father, but the promise of a present and his current situation had him slightly careless of what his father did.

(X)

"Hey," Lillian smiled as she laid back down.

"Hey," Harley laid down beside her. They were in the living room, on the couch. Most students had gone home for the holidays and the couple was taking advantage of it.

Lillian raised and lowered herself on top of Harley, still watching a movie.

"He's cute," she said as she watched a young male actor with black hair progress to his goal.

"Where do I stand on that spectrum?" Harley asked taking his hands off of her hips, as if offended.

"About a 12, if he's a 8."

"Huh," he relaxed and let his hand go back to one of their favorite places.

"So where did you go?" Lillian asked, looking up to see if anyone was coming in.

"Nowhere," Harley shrugged, annoying Lillian. "And everywhere."

"Somewhere warmer?" she teased, poking his ribs.

"Nope, I'd still be there."

They laughed and watched the movie undisturbed, neither noticing the amber eyes watching them in the forest.


	6. Chapter 6

_**This is about three chapters, sooo, yeah, it's long.**_

_**In desperate need of reviews. **_**Our shitty spell checker isn't working. ****_I'm aware. _****Gonna fix it?****_ Nope._**** So you, the readers, are just gonna have to suck it and stop being tiddy babies when it comes to spelling error and what-not until future notice. Or you can suck my demonic – ****_OLIVER!_**

It was no secret that Harley enjoyed long walks through the forest. He had done it before his mutation, was his mode of transport when he was on the run, and continued the habit once he got settled at the school. The walks were even better at Creed's estate, with all the unexplored forest.

Victor was well aware of this fact and how planned appropriately. He was camping out in a cave, a good distance away from the mansion and the pup's normal walking grounds. At night he would patrol just outside of the school's defenses and make sure the kid was all right, then he would go back to his cave.

He made sure not to leave any trail. Not that he was worried about being discovered by the brat, but being found out by Jimmy, who wouldn't take his presence well. Still Victor wouldn't mind a fight.

Sabretooth was still surprised when Harley showed up in his cave after a hunt.

"How?" Victor asked, dropping the deer.

"Saw you one night," Harley shrugged, laying on a pile of grass, leaves, moss, and several animal pelts, which was Victor's nest, in the corner. "After some thought, I had a vague idea of where you were."

Victor wasn't entirely satisfied with this explanation, but he knew it was the best he would get right now. He ripped off a quarter and began to eat. Harley just watched him from the corner.

"Why are you here?" Harley asked, standing.

Victor only grunted.

"Okay," Harley walked past Sabretooth. "Good seein' ya."

"Yeah," Victor said quietly after the pup was out of earshot.

The kid confused him. _How did he find me?_ Victor gave himself a sniff over. _No bugs. Telepathy maybe?_ Victor doubted it. The kid was either a professional poker player and kept himself in check, or he couldn't read Victor's mind. It was hard to tell.

Sabretooth took one more whiff. _Freeze,_ his instincts screamed. The pup had left something.

Padding slowly to the nest, Victor extracted his claws. Half of his mind was saying the kid wouldn't leave something harmful, but his instincts took the scent and matched it with…

A knife? Victor pulled it out of the leaves and examined it. It was a throwing knife with a note.

_**Remember this?**_

Victor sniffed it. It had the scent of his blood. Victor grinned darkly. This was the knife the cub had stabbed him with when they met in the forest outside of X-force. Sabretooth assumed it a gift and pocketed it.

(X)

A woman stood in an unfamiliar room with a familiar man, listening to his tales of a boy who gave her deja vu. She swept her black hair out of her blue eyes so that it didn't rest on her forehead.

She was slender and pale, and wore all black, which only made more of a contrast. The only jewelry she wore was a ring, with a diamond, the birthstone of her could-be son.

"Sit," the man said sliding over on the bed he sat on. She always liked his wild looks, especially the facial hair.

"I don't know how..." she tried. "If I want to.."

"I didn't at first," he admitted with a wistful smile. "I ignored him for awhile."

"Then what?" she asked, placing her hand on his where it was on the bed. The man pulled it away, knowing what she could do with the physical contact.

"He saved me," Logan shrugged. "Took a beatin' and gave one out himself."

"You mean with Daken?"

"Yeah."

The two stared at the wall opposing them.

"I missed you," the woman rest her head on Logan's shoulder.

"I missed you too, Kayla."

_**Read and review, you know, for decency's sake.**_

It had been an eventful day for Harley. With less than six days til Christmas, training had been canceled, which meant Harley had to Danger Room to himself. James and Nikki hardly wanted to participate and Logan was occupied. Lillian was suffering through migraines and Harley figured it was best not to disturb her.

Which is why he was in Forge's room with Jubilee and Forge.

"Alright, Jubs," Forge said cheerfully. "A couple more of your fireworks and we can test it."

"I'm pooped," the Asian girl complained.

"C'mon," Harley bounced around. "Only three more and think, I get to blow something up, and you get to take a nap for eternity."

The trio were infamously known to design and test dangerous devices. Like Harley's buzz-axes, or the one they were currently working one. It started with a large tank that could hold, keep, and preserve Jubilee's fireworks. Then Forge got the idea to compress them to make them more powerful. And finally, Harley said, "Now, make it a weapon!" a statement that came out a little more cavalier than it should have been.

"Okay," Jubilee huffed. It took a little longer than it should have to push the last three in a compression tank. Forge had made three mini ones for the gun, and one large one that had a port where the minis were plugged in to be refilled.

"Alright," Forge grinned as he screwed the tank on the large bazooka. "Ready, Harley?"

"Hell yes!" Harley gushed and ran out the door straight to the Danger Room to activated a target room.

He met Jubilee and Forge inside. Around them were a dozen dummies, each a varying distance from the red X the group stood on now.

"Harley," Forge passed the cannon.

Harley smiled evil. He got to test most of Forge's stuff in case of explosions. Harley waited 'til the other were out and in the observational balcony above.

With smile he aim the bazooka at a dummy and fire. It knocked Harley back at bit, but he caught his balance. A large, white orb had shot out and hit the dummy in the chest, exploding into a ball of flames.

"Hahaha, YES!" Harley laughed.

Forge and Jubilee, her weariness forgotten, to met the still laughing boy.

"I want one of these," Harley gasped out between laughs.

"Small chance," Forge grinned. "Here."

The two males switched items; Forge taking the cannon and Harley taking two black bracelets.

"Are these..?"

"Yep," Jubs nodded. "I had him fix them while you were gone at X-force."

Harley smiled and put one on, swishing his wrist to summon his beloved buzz-ax.

"Thanks, you guys," Harley looked at it. "There something different."

"Yes," Forge pointed to a button. "Press that."

Harley complied. The blade began to glow with heat, and soon blue flames were coming off of it.

Harley smiled and slung it at a testing dummy. It caught in its head and burned for a moment, before 'porting back to it owner's grip.

Harley only smiled again, before dismissing the weapon to put the other bracelet on.

**Read and review, or you're gonna freeze in the seventh layer of Hell for treachery. ****_I second that notation!_**

Wolverine was concerned. He had had been tracking a scent through the forest around the school and was not happy about who it belong to and what that person was planning.

He growled as he trotted up the stairs to tell Harley they were going for a vacation.

Logan arrived an hour after Harley, who pretended that he had been at the mansion the whole time Logan was gone, but Logan knew better.

_**(But I digress)**_ Logan planned to take his son to the cabin that Logan owned in Canada. It would give them time together and Wolverine desperately needed some civilization-free time. Not to mention it would get them away from the unwanted presence and it would be their first Christmas; Logan had gotten a mission last year and Harley hadn't tested his DNA.

"Hey, Short-knives," Logan knocked on his son's door. "Ya in there?"

Wolverine opened the door and scanned the room. No sign of Harley, but he was here recently and probably had just left. _Huh,_ Logan shrugged. If Harley wasn't here to pack Logan would just do it for him.

Grabbing the duffer bag in the closet, Logan opened the drawers and began to pack for his son.

(X)

Harley, as it was, was with Sabretooth, enjoying some bird.

"Where are you two goin'?" Victor asked again, not believing his ears.

"Church," Harley sighed exasperatedly. "It will be quick, and then I'll come back and we can go hunting."

Lillian was on his motorcycle on the side of the road a couple dozen yards from the cave. Harley was there under the guise of having to use the restroom. More excuse would be needed, but he would think of something.

"Fine," Sabretooth growled. "But you owe me a fight afterwards."

(X)

"That was fun," Lillian laughed, holding onto Harley was he drove his motorcycle.

Harley smiled. Not that Lily would see it; they both had helmets on.

"Can we stop?" she asked. "I gotta tinkle."

Harley nodded his head. They were in Manhattan. Harley wanted to go to church, being Catholic, but was sleeping with Lillian that morning, so when she asked if she could come he said yes.

They pulled into a gas station. Lily went to the bathroom, while Harley filled up on gas. A black Sedan pulled in and a familiar scent was leaking out of it.

_Motor oil?_ Oliver asked.

Men in sunglasses and suits emerged. They marched into the gas station. Harley attempted to read their minds, but couldn't. He didn't put too much thought into it; being unable to read someone's mind was a common occurrence for Harley; after all, he lived with a dozen telepaths. But still...

_Something isn't right..._ Harley frowned. He could smell guns and cold indifference, but also an excited nervousness. _And what the hell is that smell?_ Oliver inputted.

_I don't know, but I don't like it,_ Harley started to growl, a habit borne from his time with Sabretooth, and began to head inside to Lil.

Through the store's windows he could see Lillian come out of the bathroom. What happened next was a shocker. One of the MIBs pulled out a tranquilizer gun and pointed at her.

"NO!" Harley shouted before a _Snikt! _Could be heard as he ran forward. Something hard hit the side of his face, ricocheting of of Fox's metal skull.

_Bullet, _Oliver reported.

Panic broke out, or maybe Harley just noticed it, but people were running and screaming.

The bullet didn't kill, but it pushed down Harley, who immediately popped back up with a barrel roll, taking several bullets to the trunk and two guards, who happened to be in the way.

The MIB pulled the trigger and the dart struck Lillian in the neck. Her eyes went wide and several screaming civilians dropped unconscious. Harley had felt a telepathic wave go through. He sliced a MIB standing in the door as another picked up Lillian.

"Cease fire!" A voice called out behind Harley.

Fox turned around, livid. _It couldn't be..._

"Stryker," Fox snarled. If his fist weren't covered in blood, they would be bone white, clenched in rage.

"Harley," the old man chuckled _**(X2 Stryker)**_. "You been looking for me so I wanted to say something."

An odd bubble began to form in Harley's mind. It was cold and uncaring, and completely logical. Harley held at bay and his next words were forced.

"What the hell have you done?" He spat. "What are you planning? And why me?"

Styrker laughed. Fox was acutely aware no one had moved.

"I've injected you into your friends, _Harley_," Stryker explained. The way he said the boy's named seemed mocking. "You have O blood, so it wasn't hard. Your mutations carried over. But only to those two. You see some psychological rules apply. Multiple subjects died trying to handle you."

Harley gritted his teeth.

"But James, an impulse test subject meant to rile you up, took it almost effortlessly. Minus the screaming in pain. And Nikki was the same, but with more anesthetics. We imagine the drugs affected the bonding. As for my plan?

"I don't like mutants; they're nasty animal, who need to be put down. But any animal can serve a purpose."

Harley could barely hear the sirens in the distance, but his brain didn't process them. Oliver was giving it his all to hold back the berserker rage and had sent a message to the X-Men for help.

"And you, Wolverine, and Sabretooth are useful animals. You kill and kill and kill and don't feel anything. So remember my words when you wake up."

Fox turned as a dart exploded from a gun that was now in front of him. Instinctively, he slashed it out of the air and turned to attack Stryker, who drew a syringe filled with a dark red..

Harley dropped to all fours and charged the mad man. The distance between them was five feet, but that room meant Harley hit Stryker hard.

A gasp escaped Fox. Somehow another dart was in his shoulder, and Harley started to pass out.

"Should have been a vet," Stryker muttered before stabbing Harley with the syringe.

The world turned black.

(X)

Since Charles had met Logan, he was intrigued by the man's ability to block out pain and people. Harley was similar. The boy had extreme control over himself. Whether it be blocking something, or someone, out or exciting himself over something, and the reverse, making himself believe that something would be boring or useless. Not to mention, morals...or sometimes the lack of.

But Harley had a way of getting to Logan. Charles wasn't sure that Logan was the same for Fox, but he believed so.

It still surprised him when a _pop!_ Sounded in his office and Harley appeared in the middle of Xavier's office on a running motorcycle, covered in blood.

"What is the meaning of this?" Xavier asked, slightly angered.

"Lillian..." Harley gasped. Xavier noticed a wound on the side of his head that hadn't healed yet as well as several on the child's trunk. "Lily... Stryker."

"Stryker?" Charles asked caught off guard. "What-"

His sentence was interrupted by Harley falling over, unconscious, bleeding on the carpet.

_Hank!_ Xavier called out. _Come immediately. Harley is injured. Get Logan on your way._

_Yes, Professor,_ McCoy responded.

Xavier waited impatiently. Stryker and Lillian, who was missing, or at least not present. But with Harley's injuries and the odd appearance, he was sure that he knew what happened.

"What is-oh, my stars and garters," Beast rushed in and began to examine Harley. "His healing has stopped. He needs medical attention ASAP."

Beast was just about to pick the boy up when Logan came in.

"Whad- Harley!" Logan ran forward. "No! I'll get him."

McCoy jumped back, startled by Logan's possessive shout.

"Logan," the professor tried. "Hank's only trying to help."

Logan didn't say a word as the trio hurried for the infirmary. Students looked stricken as the saw the group pass.

"Go to class," Xavier instructed. "If is your teacher please go outside."

The children complied willingly, some even ran to get out.

(X)

When Nikki saw Logan run past with Harley in his arms, a stone dropped in her stomach.

"What happened?" she asked shocked. She knew he had gone out with Lillian, but...

"Move outta the way!" Logan shouted at her. Nikki jumped back, but continued to follow. Several times on this journey, she had seen Harley beaten, bruised, and bloodied some of it her fault during training, but this? Why wasn't he healing?

_Hey, is every thing okay? _James asked. _I could smell blood._

_Harley's had an accident or something, _Nikki explained quickly. _Or something. God, I hope he's alright. He's not healing._

_What!?_ James was just as shocked as she was.

_I don't know, James,_ she felt like crying. _Please hurry._

(X)

James, against his typical nature, threw his controller on the bed and raced to meet his girlfriend (_***I think that's a horrible ship now.***_) downstairs. James wasn't much for athletics, but no one could say that he didn't hauled ass to find Nik and his adopted brother.

A sense of growing concern arose somewhere in his stomach. Harley wasn't healing, Nikki was scared shitless, and who the fuck knew how Logan was taking this, if Logan knew at all.

Stumbling into the elevator he screamed at the kids inside to get the fuck out of his way and when they didn't move faster enough, started shoving them out. He hit the down button repeatedly until he heard the noise signifying James was going down and then some.

He ran into the med bay, smelling Nikki, Beast, Logan, Harley, and lots of blood.

He had barely gotten over the threshold when he saw Harley. That action was followed by racing to the trash can to hurl his breakfast.

"I can't see exit wounds," Hank exclaimed. "I'm going to have to put him under."

"How are you going to do that?" James asked. "He heals."

"Not at the moment," Nikki retorted, close to throwing up herself.

Hank prepared the syringe with the proper dosage, while James, Nikki, and Logan stood by dumbstruck.

"What happened?" James asked.

"Don't know yet," Nikki sat on the flooring. James got the feeling she was close to tears. "We might know if he pulls through."

"Don't!" Logan turned to face her. "Don't say that!"

James thought he saw tears swimming in Wolverine's eye, but the older man turned away.

By know McCoy had everything ready. He stuck Fox, injecting him to make sure he wouldn't wake and began operating.

Now James has killed people before and was said to be 'desensitized' by video games, but when Hank opened Harley up, James had to go to the trash can again.

"Interesting," Hank murmured.

"McCoy, this ain't the time," Logan growled.

"Didn't we do an X-ray and discovered metal on Harley's skeleton?"

"What does that have ta do with this?" Logan roared. "It saved his fuckin' life! Don't ya see the bullet wound to his head?"

"There is no metal on his bones," Hank calmly explained, through sweat was dripping off of him. "Nik, pass me those tweezers."

Nikki complied. "What do you mean? There has to be in order of that to be reflected."

"No more talkin' McCoy," Logan said softly taking his son's hand. "Hurry up."

(X)

Harley groaned; everything hurt. His head was pulsing and his midsection felt mutilated.

"Harley," a voice croaked.

"Shud up," Harley whined. His eyes were already clenched tight and if it didn't hurt to move, he would have covered his ears. It was one of those common time when he hated his senses. His tongue felt like sandpaper and his fingers hurt.

"It's okay, kid, it me," the voice said quieter.

"Vic..."

"Yeah," his uncle emitted some happy smells.

"Where am I?" Harley opened his eyes to utter darkness.

"The damned X-mansion."

"What are you doin' here?" Harley kept quiet; it would hurt his own ears to talk loud and telepathy would most likely hurt his head. Not that he could get into Victor's head anyway.

"I was waiting for ya," Victor explained. "So, when I smelled yer blood I had to check on ya. Ya smell diff-"

"How did you get in here?"

"Slipped past security and drugged Jimmy."

"Where's Dad?" Harley asked, now concerned.

"Slumped in that corner," Victor sneered. "What happened?"

Harley recounted the events at the gas station. He could almost hear Victor's brain buzzing when he finished. He knew Victor was processing, or at least giving the image, what had been told to him; Harley took advantage of the silence to go over it himself. What had been injected into him? What was Stryker exactly planning? And why did his fingers hurt?

_It had to be blood, or something derived from it, _Oliver rattled. It hurt Harley's head to think, but these were important question to Fox. _He's using mutants as weapon, and why not? They have amazing and destructive abilities. Ones with your mutation could prove quite useful in combat. And why do our fingers hurt?_

_Could it be the injection?_ Harley thought, trying to move to examine them.

"Yer lucky," Victor grunted. "They had you restrained."

"Cut the restraints?"

"Yeah," Harley could see Victor's face moving. _Wait?!_

Curiosity surged through Harley like adrenaline. He sat up and looked around. He could see in the dark! He could see Victor clearly and even spotted Logan in the corner, slumped, asleep, with a dark haired woman resting her head on his shoulder..

Harley was wrapped with bandages and gauze, wearing sweat pants. And his hands hurt because... because...

"Oh, Victor," he felt on the verge of tears, confused ones. "What has happened?"

Victor looked at his hands and saw claws similar to his own.

"I'm sorry, cub," Victor said sadly. It was the first time 'human' could be applied to Victor. "Stryker got ya with me, didn't he?"

Harley nodded with a lump in his throat. Logan would be conflicted. Lillian would be hurt. The new claws would be a reminder to them of the pain and suffering caused by the originally owner.

"I can teach how to use 'em," Victor tried when his pup didn't respond. "It shouldn't be hard."

"Go away, Victor," Harley said quietly. "There's something that I need to take care of."

Sabretooth snarled and left. Harley watched him go with his new night-vision.

(X)

Logan woke up to see his son sitting up, staring at the door.

"You need to lay down," he was instantly alert. He gently pushed Kayla off and approached Harley.

Harley had tears leaking out of his eyes, eyes which Logan couldn't see, but Harley didn't seem to noticed. Logan took a whiff and could still smell wounds on his son. He took note of the slashed restraints.

"Harley, bub?" he tried. "Ya gotta lay down. Hank operated on you."

He attempted to gently push Fox into a lying position. Harley growled.

"C'mon," Logan was getting worried and a little angry. "Don't ya wanna heal?"

"Leave me alone," Harley growled again, this time getting of the table. His hand clenched to the point his knuckles were white.

"Unh," a noise from the corner didn't distracted Logan.

"Harley," he said more forcefully. "Get. On. The. Cot."

"Wanna... sleep... in my... own bed," Harley gritted out.

"Harley," Kayla said softly and silkily. "Please get back on the cot."

Harley froze.

"Fine, but leave," he looked at them. It was the first eye contact between any of them since Logan had gotten up. And the first time Logan saw his son's eye since he had awaken.

His left one was amber.

Harley's eyes were normally dark brown; his uncle's were amber.

"Victor," Logan growled quietly. He didn't think that the bastard was working with Stryker anymore.

"Logan," Kayla slipped her hand in his. "Let's go."

Stiffly and angrily, Logan pulled his hand out of hers and marched out the door. Kayla padded timidly behind him.

"Logan?" Kayla radiated with confusion, sorrow, and a little joy.

"I just want him ta talk to me sometimes," Logan huffed as they got in the elevator. "I wanna know what happens with him; I wanna know if something's wrong, so I can fix it. But when something in really wrong, he goes cold, silent. And I know that's how I am, but..."

"It's how people feel about you," Kayla pressed herself against him. "You do the same thing to others. It hurts to see the ones you love in pain. You know that."

She looked in his eyes. "But Harley, from what I've heard, is different from you. He'll go out of his way to fix it. Have you forgotten?"

No, Logan couldn't forget the story of how Harley walked two and a half hours to James when his family had an incident.

"That different," Logan ground his teeth as the elevator door opened. "This ain't just him. The girl, Lillian, is missing."

"And we'll hear what happened."

"I dunno," Logan sighed defeated. "Harley's a mystery."

(X)

Harley lay on the cot. Logan and the woman had long since left, James and Nikki had tried to visit, and Hank had come and dropped of some sandwiches, which were only partial eaten. Harley knew thinking on a growling stomach would defeat the purpose of the silence, so he ate as he thought.

_Lillian's been kidnapped and will most likely be subject to torturous experimentation._

_Victor has possibly been working with Stryker._

_Logan has some woman with him. A lover if I read the situation correctly._

_I have Victor's claws, night vision, and God knows what else._

_I'm going to have to talk to Charles, a task I'm dread._

_Did Logan see my fingernails?_

These were the main topics in Harley's head. He glanced at a mirror on the wall and was startled to see his left eye had turned bright blue, before fading to brown. And then his vision faded into it old blurriness. He sighed and went back to his thoughts and sandwich.

_That new girl, Mya, could make gloves; that should help me some. Hopefully Victor's still in the cave, and I personally couldn't give a damn about Dad's love life._

With a grunt and a growl, Harley forced himself of of the cot and painfully made his way to his room. He had used the elevator and his telepathy to make the trip shorter and to make sure nobody saw him, although he was pretty sure. The Professor knew where his was.

Harley didn't bother showering; he wouldn't be able to reapply the bandages. So he just took off his shirt and put on a large jacket that used to be Logan's. He found out he wouldn't be able to change out of his sweat pants because it hurt too much to bend down.

Afterwards, he headed to the third floor, hoping he could find the girl he was looking for. A quick psychic scan found her in the corner room.

He knocked politely on her door, then stuffed his fists in his pockets.

A short Spanish girl answered the door. She was slightly obese and wore jeans, but her shirt was white with several patches. Nothing that gave away her extreme skills with clothes or anything that gave away her mutation, the ability to project her thoughts as images and holograms as well as telekinesis.

"Can I help you?" she said sweetly. Her voice carried a Spanish accent.

"I need some special gloves," Harley smiled, trying to block out his hurting stomach.

"Sure," Mya put her hands on her hips. "Whadda ya need?"

"Basic gloves, but with metal tips. Can you do that?"

"Sure, in fact..." she trailed off and went into her room. Harley continued to stand in the doorway.

"Here, I made these for myself, but they were too big," Mya handed Harley the gloves, who used his telepathy to hid his claws. He put them on; they fit perfectly.

"Thanks, Mya," Harley beamed. "What do I own you?"

"Oh, nothing," a mild blush rose in her cheeks. "Come again if you need anything."

"Will do. Thanks."

(X)

Harley walked to Charles' office and knocked.

"Come in," he called. Harley opened the door to see Charles and Hank waiting for him. Hank had a bag with him, which by the smell of it contained several bandages and some antiseptic.

"Please stand so can change your bandages," Chuck instructed. "While his there please tell me what happened when you were out."

Harley reported everything that he could remember. From what happened when the SUV pulled in to how when Harley woke up he was a a stretcher, half-way to to ambulance. He had gotten off, ignored the hollering medics, got on his bike, and managed a port.

"We are lucky that Deadpool gave the teleporter," Charles smiled reassuringly. "Now we have some things to tell you. Hank?"

"Yes," McCoy sat on a chair across from Harley and the professor. "The wound on your head."

"Has healed," Harley finished.

"Is interesting," Hank corrected, although Harley was right. "We X-rayed you and there is no metal on your bones."

"Excuse me?" Harley cocked an eyebrow, now significantly angered.

"It would seem that your tritary mutation would be the ability to grow a hard substance over your bones."

_Breaking this down:_

_1)Claws_

_2)senses_

_3)healing, faulty nonetheless_

_4)metal production, shall we call it_

_5)Sabretooth's claws_

_6)Does ferality count? _**Like in feral instincts?**_ Is that what they are? _**Is that what what are?**_ Feral instincts, as in what guides Victor and sometimes Dad? _**Sure, why the hell not. **_Okay._

_7)night-vision? _**No, you haven't seen in the dark lately.**_ You're right, I had to turn the lights on in the closet. _**So, the effect faded?**_ Let's hope._

_Still, that's quite a list of powers._

Of course Oliver did all that, but Harley could agree with him. It was a list and one was generally unknown and another one didn't count because Fox didn't have ferality.

"... Lillian?" the professor was asking.

"What?" Harley snapped not listening.

"What do you think Stryker plans for Lillian?" Hank repeated for the Professor.

"I don't know," Harley rose. "But I have to save her."

"Like hell you do," Logan walked in, with the black-haired woman behind him. "Sit down."

Harley continued to stand.

"How long have ya known 'bout yer healing?"

"A while," Harley growled. "The main hint was my vision. You would have picked up on it if you were paying attention."

The woman gasped.

"I was!" Logan shouted. "But I thought it was just somethin' ya held on ta."

"Why would I do that?"

"Harley, please," Xavier begged.

"The hell am I suppose ta know?" Logan growled. "Ya always have some reason for somethin'."

"You would know those reasons if you weren't always running off!" Harley was livid.

"You ran off just a couple weeks ago!"

"You fucking hypocrite! There was something I needed to attend to!"

"Harley-" Hank started, only to realize it was helpless.

"What was it?" Logan asked quietly

"You know what it is, but everything else in your mind is seemingly more important."

"Not everything," Logan said. "I did help you find family."

"Yeah, I'm aware," Harley snapped. "But I don't see it."

"Hm hm," the woman cleared her throat. "May I say something."

Logan grunted, Harley stuffed his hands in his pockets, and Charles and Hank sighed; there was an air of temporary relief.

"Do you know who I am?" she asked.

"No," was Harley's clipped response.

"But you feel like you should, don't you?"

Harley eyes widen briefly. "Yes."

"We did a test," Hank spoke up. "Harley, this is-"

"Your mother," Logan finished. "Kayla Silverfox."

Harley's eyes widened again, but longer.

"I-" Kayla tried to speak, but Harley shouldered through her and Logan and out the door, where a group of students had gathered. They fled when Harley came out.

Xavier massaged his temples.

Hank frowned and cleaned his glasses.

Kayla looked around and seemed to be on the verge of tears.

Logan stood still, before sighing. _Why is this so hard?_


	7. Chapter 7(Final)

_**This is the final chapter of part two. To or to not have a third part is in the air right now, but we shall see.**_

Victor was unsure how he felt about Harley's situation. Still didn't know how to feel when the kid showed up at the cave. But he knew that he was pissed when the kid kicked his ass and left him unconscious.

He didn't feel better when he woke up and the cub as sitting beside him.

"You should already know why I came," Harley's voice was indifferent, a shock to anybody who was familiar with his cheerful personality. "But I didn't want to waste time, so I read your mind."

Victor had been wondering when the kid would ask if he had been working with Stryker.

"What now, Victor?" Harley asked and turned to his uncle with one blue eye blazing. "It'll take some time to track him down, so what do I do?"

Victor took in the blue eye as it faded.

"I don't know exactly," Victor sat up and put a hand on Harley's shoulder. "But I got a grudge against Stryker myself, so I help ya kill 'im."

"Good," the blue eye had returned. "I'll let you know when it's time."

Harley stood up and walked away, leaving Victor glad that revenge was coming, but confused and worried about his cub.

(X)

Kayla sat on Harley's bed and took in his room. White walls, popcorn, a dresser with a TV hooked up to a game console, a large wooden desk with a computer monitor, laptop and other clutter, a simple bed with black sheets, a closet and adjoining bathroom. Simple by some standard.

The door opened and on the threshold stood Harley.

"What do you want?" he asked in a flat voice.

"When was the last time you ate?" she asked, with a tint of concern.

"Some time ago," he responded after a moment. Harley went into his closet and for a moment Kayla could hear him moving clothes. He came out with a bottle of water and two bags of blue Doritos, one of which was given to Kayla.

"What do you know about me?" she asked.

"You're supposed to be dead."

That surprised Kayla. Logan had mentioned that the kid knew more than he should.

"Yes," she said tentatively.

"How are you here?"

"Stryker."

Harley's eyes narrowed. "Explain."

She did.

All she remembered as a darkness, then she was on a operation table with cords and tubes inside of her, filled with blood and a thick blue liquid. The tubes with the unknown liquid tingled oddly, as if with electricity. People were panicking around. In the midst of them was Stryker, smiling. Then she passed out as the tingling turned to a brutal pain.

Harley took this in and processed it. "So, he resurrected you somehow?"

"Yes," she nodded, unsure of how he was going to react.

"Okay," he nodded. "Now, I have other things to attend to, so, please leave and have a nice second life. Try not to make as many mistakes as you did last time, like aiding a monster."

Kayla gasped, shocked at the cruelty of his words. She got the feeling Harley didn't like as much as she thought he would.

(X)

Nikki frowned. She had heard the exchange and was worried. Harley had wanted to find family, but now that he had it, he didn't seem to care. Perhaps the circumstances were wrong with Lillian and such.

She padded through the halls of the school, so lost in thought that she collided with Logan.

"Hey, watch-" Nikki realized who she was talking to. "Oh, sorry, Logan."

"Fine, kid," Logan stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Somethin' botherin' ya?"

"No," she lied.

"Hmph, if ya say so," he started to walk off.

"Logan," she called out.

"Yeah, kid?" he turned to give her a bored look, although Nikki could smell that he was angered, worried, and a bit... she didn't know.

"Don't worry about Harley," she gave a small reassuring smile. "I know how to get him out of his mood."

(X)

"No."

"Yes."

"No!"

"YES!" Nikki insisted loudly. James winced.

"Nikki, if he doesn't wan-" he began, but both Nikki and her contestant shouted for him to shut up.

"I have other things to do," Harley crossed his arms. "I don't have time for the stupid Christmas eve party."

He had been trying to track Lily for the past three days since her kidnapping to no avail. If he wasn't in Cerebro during the day, he was in the forest with Victor fighting. Training. At night he slept little; he would take Creed to the Danger Room adding extra to their sparring.

"I. Don't. Care," she said. "Now you either comply or I beat you and then you go. And if I have to beat you, I'm going to put a dress on you instead of your choice of whatever you what."

A smile tugged on Harley's lips.

"Besides, you have the whole day to yourself,"Nikki explained. "Just be here, in this room at 8:45."

"Fine," Harley huffed. He would try, that was all he could promise.

He left the room and sighed.

_What to do, what to do?_ He thought. He could see Forge, who had been making incendiary grenades. How he wasn't in trouble yet for making such a destructive device was beyond Harley's reasoning, even with his... well, it couldn't be called a berserker rage. How about a... logical... rage? It didn't quite sound right, but it would work.

He could spar with Victor, but that seemed a little less than what is used to be. Harley glanced at his still gloved hands. There had been questions, but Harley lied, deflected, and avoided them. Victor was the only one who know.

Harley could go see Jubilee, Rogue, Kitty, or any of his friends, but he didn't feel like that.

He wanted to save Lillian, but he couldn't do that.

He knew where she was now, thanks to some long hours with Nikki and James, who tracked his general location through the X-force database and they had devised a way to ping Nikki's psychic waves off of Harley's mind to strengthen their telepathy. Combine that with Cerebro and you got the location of a loved one and a killer migraine.

Harley's morals conflicted: wait til Christmas was over to save Lillian, or leave immediately, without backup James had added. It was a hard choice for the young one.

He sighed again and made an unexpected choice.

Harley knocked on his father's door.

"Come in," a voice said.

"Kayla," he opened the door. "It's a nice day outside."

"Yes," she answered with more of a question that agreement. She was sitting on the bed, reading.

"I was going to the stables, would you like to come?" Harley offered._ Where did you get this plan?_ Oliver asked.

"Sure," she put the book down.

(X)

Harley quickly saddled two horse. A white one for Kayla and a black one for him with a star on its forehead and no other marking. To Kayla's surprise the two were twins.

Harley to the lead and showed her a trail. They rode in silence before she decided to break it.

"Ride often?" she interrogated.

"Sometimes," he replied slowly. "I have an affinity for animals so I enjoy things like this."

She filed that away. Kayla had heard that the boy had conflicting hobbies and interest. Computer and long walks. Technology and nature. Fighting and relaxing.

A growl came from the teen.

"Is something wrong?" she inquired, concerned.

"I hate this," he huffed.

"Hate what?" she couldn't hide her surprise. The horse ride was his idea!

"I can't read your mind," he grunted. "I bothers me that I can't track your thought process. I guess I've gotten use to that."

"Getting to know how somebody will react before you say or do anything?"

"Yes, exactly!" he gestured to her. "Like James and Nikki, I can predicate their thoughts, actions, and reactions to many scenarios, even before my telepathy developed."

Kayla smiled. "Have you known them for a long time?"

"Since the sixth grade. So four, five years. I can't believe Nikki and James despised each other. Now their dating. And, well, they're the reason I've held out so long."

"What do you mean?" Kayla guided them now. Logan had taken down these trails and she wanted to show her son.

"Whenever I go through a hard spot those two are there, whether in thought, presence, or a phone call. I once walked two and a half hours, across a highway, at night to see James, 'cause I knew he could cheer me up. This thing with Lillian..."

Kayla glanced at him. She knew what he was saying.

They rode in silence for a time. Kayla could see why the kid liked the woods; it was peaceful.

"Shit," she heard him hiss. It had gotten considerable darker than when they had started. They had left rather late in the day. "Nikki's gonna kill me!"

His horse turned quickly and galloped away, leaving Kayla to race behind him. Her horse was faster and soon overtook him. Three yards was how far she got before her horse began to slow down and Harley caught up.

They quickly arrived at the stables and unsaddled the horse, before Harley ran to the mansion. Just before he was out of her sight, Kayla saw him drop to all fours and continue on his way. She froze. Victor did that. Was there a connection?

She brushed off the idea. There were more pressing matters: the Christmas Eve party.

(X)

James slid next to Harley near the punch bowl. Both were wearing suits.

"Hiding near the punch bowl?" he asked teasingly.

"Yep," Harley held his glass out. "Here's to the social awkward."

"So, Nikki?"

"Is the prime suspect of the case of why I'm here. She also has a attempted murder charge."

James laughed. Harley smiled. Logan watched it all with a light heart. Of course, the kid had something on his mind. Lillian. Logan knew what is was like to have a loved one taken. Anger. Sorrow. But Harley only displayed those at first, and even then not for long.

If the professor was right, one, Harley had found Lillian, but was waiting, and, two, the 'blue-eyed' Harley was calling some of the shots.

Logan had heard that the boy knew where Lillian was, but had chosen not to act.

"He's been good today," Kayla came up to him.

"Yeah?"

"Uh-huh, he is hard to predicate," Kayla added. "You were right."

"Still wearin' gloves," Logan observed.

"I know."

"Why?"

Kayla had no answer. Nobody did.

They took in the chatter of people, music, and for Logan scents, before leaving to find a more secluded place.

(X)

Harley watched them leave and followed soon after. He took off to the woods after changing to his typical T-shirt and jeans. He found Victor tearing in to a deer carcass.

"Saving some for me?" Harley asked. Victor looked up at him.

" 'O," he got around a mouthful of raw meat. " 'ell ya doing 'ere?"

"I'm going the day after Christmas, which is tomorrow.

"I plan to bring James, Nikki, and possibly Dad. I only want people who can heal on the ground. Once the X-men find out, they're going to want in, so I wanna know: Can you play nice?"

"I don't play nice," Victor grinned, baring his fangs. "But I'll work with ya."

Harley sighed; it was the best he could hope for. Fatigue hit heavy suddenly and he knew he wouldn't heal if the two started to spar.

"Sleep," Victor nodded to his cave. Harley nodded and went inside the cave to the nest of moss, leaves, and feathers. He hadn't slept much lately, but his healing factor had kept him going. Now everything hit and he doubted he would be awake much longer as he laid down. The collage of nature was surprisingly comfortable and Fox passed out of the realm of consciousness.

(X)

James held any emotion that was stirred from the question.

"Why the hell should I be keeping tabs on him?" Nikki glared, not liking James answer.

"Because, James, we've both smelled his fatigue," she ranted. "The last thing we need is for him to pass out on the stairs and kill himself."

"At least he'd get sleep," James shrugged, returning to his spiked punch. Nikki growled.

"You look nice tonight," James tried. She really did, though. A sky-blue dress that ended at her ankles, with short ruffles at the legs, and smooth everywhere else. _Shame it don't show more, _he thought.

Nikki punched him in the chest, blushing. "I heard that!"

James threw up his hands in a helpless gesture. "What can I say?"

Nikki rolled her eyes.

"Maybe he went to bed?" James said. "Or Forge's shop?"

"Maybe," Nikki thought for a moment. "Can we dance?"

"Uhh, sure?" It was more of a question than an answer, but still...

(X)

"Jingle bells, shot guns shells, Harley got a bomb," Harley sang. "Pulled the pin, gave a grin, now you're gonna die,-"

"Hey, enough," Jubilee scolded.

"Sorry," Harley put another cylinder in the backpack.

"Be careful with those," Forge warned. They were in his shop. "One goes in that bag, you're not coming back, man."

"I know," Harley sighed and zipped up the bag. It was heavy.

"So, tomorrow, huh?" Jubilee asked. "Are you sure, Harley?"

"No, I'm not," he admitted. "But this isn't about me."

Silence. Harley thanked Forge for the gifts and headed to his room. Once there he put the bag in the closet.

A moment passed where Harley just stared, before on a impulse he took one of his gloves off. Despite doing this many times, or seeing them while training with Victor, he still hadn't gotten used to seeing his claws. Maybe it was time to put them to use.

_**Sorry about the last chapter and what ever horrible content it contained; I haven't felt like typing.**_

Fox was in his costume and was glaring daggers out of the wind shield of the Blackbird. He knew the other X-men would insist on joining him, but that didn't help the fact that he was still angered. Which as he thought about was karma; Logan, Kayla, and the others, but mostly the first two, had been livid.

"He's part of my plan," Harley had shrugged. "Get over it. I do the necessary thing and at the moment that includes Sabretooth."

"We're approaching the base," Storm reported from besides him. It was a military base, and Harley knew it well. They, Nikki, James, and him, had raided it once. It was where Nikki was put into a coma.

"Good," Harley nodded and went to the back of the jet. "Strike team ready?"

Logan, James, Nikki, and Victor stood up. Harley frowned.

"No," he glared at Nikki.

"Yes."

"No," Harley was firm.

"Fine," she huffed.

"Ready?" he looked to the others.

Yes. The ramp of the jet was lowered and and wind swept through the jet. Logan, James, and Victor ran off and jumped. Harley followed immediately after. He had to make sure his bag was in check.

Falling from 20,000 ft. sounds like a good plan, if you have a parachute, or a healing factor.

Everyone had their own falling positions. James, screaming: was pointed to the ground with his arms at his sides. Victor was in a crouching position with his arms out. Logan was falling in a similar manner. Harley got to fulfill a dream of his: fall lying down with his back to the ground and his eyes closed. The wind felt nice and whistled in his ears. He could almost believe that the turmoil in the world had ceased to exist.

But it did.

Harley landed with a grin on his face, his knees and a fist in the earth below him. He arose to see that the others, which had landed before him, were engaged in combat with several if the surrounding guards. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a pink cylinder with little red hearts and yellow lightning bolts on it.

"Happy Independence Day!" he screamed gleefully and threw it at the nearest cluster of guards, ignoring the bloodied Fallout in their midst. The cylinder hit one of the men in the face and exploded with a variety of colors. It was one of Jubilee's fireworks bombs, afterall.

"The hell?" he heard Wolverine say in response. A guard came rushing at Fox, guns blazing, who unsheathed his metal claws and beheaded him, not even acknowledging the bullet hole that luckily were healing. Harley drove through the guards, slaughtering, healing, and throwing firework bombs until the court was empty.

They began their trek in the halls of the base.

_Stryker know it's us, _Logan guessed. They were on a telepathic channel, even Victor, who had dropped his mental defense for this.

_We were in radar range, _James thought.

_A stupid move, cub._ Victor scolded Harley.

_All part of the plan,_ Harley grinned. He lied. There was very little plan.

Cause chaos, kill people, save Lillian, and kill, no torture Stryker. Not necessarily in that order.

Blood painted the white walls at intervals where resistance had been met, but they were unstoppable. They hurt, they healed, they pressed on. It would've been a labyrinth to somebody who didn't know the place, but Harley knew some of it from his past excursion here.

It also helped that the soldiers had been in places Harley hadn't so the team had a fairly good mental map.

Harley's bomb bag slowly depleted, but he was saving a few that were orange and had hazard signs on them.

_Harley, we're in position, _Nikki reported from her post. They were infiltrating the base from a different side. _Stryker has been targeted._

Harley received an image of the place with a dot representing Stryker off in the western side. Harley's group was in the northern region, and Wolf's was in the south-western region. If they met up in the middle...

The plan was sent to Nikki before Harley even finalized it.

_Met you there, _she replied.

Logan glanced at Harley, who nodded. They changed directions; they need to turn around to met with the others.

They met no body, except the dead one on the floor which were stepped over. Harley became focused on the lights overhead and the vents on the ground. If the lights went out... if gas was pumped through the vents...

_We press on, or we choke to death,_ Sabretooth snarled. _Then _we _heal._

_What about the others?_ James asked as he slipped in a puddle of blood. _FUCK!_

_They die,_ Sabretooth shrugged.

_Nobody else matters to you, do they?_ Wolverine growled.

_You did once,_ Sabretooth answered with equal anger. _The cub does._

_Enough,_ Oliver roared. _Or I chop you both to little bits and burn them like incense._

_Brutal,_ Nikki interjected.

_Sorry I asked,_ James muttered. Harley rolled his eyes; the weight of the mission began to settle on him. _What have they done to my mate? Is she hurt? I'm going to rip the throat out of all who have touched her!_

The others around him slowed their paces

"Harley...?"James asked "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, let's-" Gunfire cut him off and triggered him into action. A group of soldiers had found them and had the element of surprise. It was the damned place; there were too many scents and sounds for any of the group to focus.

Harley in a panic grabbed one of the orange cylinders and crushed it in his hand. Fire erupted and covered him and everything around him.

It burned, but he let his blue eye show and was able to ignore the pain.

(X)

James watched, horrified, as Fox burned. He didn't seem to care. The soldiers did and ran off; they were cut down by the rest of the team who chased them. This was expected from Harley. He had set himself on fire in the past, but not like this! Before he laughed and quickly put the flames out.

Now he growled and killed everyone in his path. It was scary how fast his best friend could change. Even more so that he would let Oliver out so willingly. Yes, that's what it seemed to James; that the demon Harley claimed to have was real.

James took a bullet to the shoulder and yelled in pain, before he popped his claws and took out the man who shot him.

(X)

Only when they had met up with the others did Fox return to normal.

"Got a lock," Fox commanded. "Let's go."

Fox's strike team was up front with the other X-men in the back.

"Stop or the girl dies," Stryker emerged from a side corridor into the large empty room they were in. He held a button in his hand and by his side was-

"Lillian!" Fox cried. She look relatively fine, a bit gaunt, but nothing serious. Her face was dead-set and it was a concerning look on her. One of her eyes had lost the color of the iris and pupil making it all white.

Stryker smiled evilly. "She's gone now. Met Weapon Y." Lillian's eyes narrowed and the walls around the group fractured. Stryker laughed manically at the stunned atmosphere.

"What have you done?" screamed Storm before Fox could. Rage boiled in his blood and something arose in him that he fought down.

"Just several experiments," Stryker shrugged. "A couple strands of DNA here and there."

"You son of a bitch!" Fox hollered. "I hope you burn in Hell, and when I join you, I'm going to listen to your screams!"

He wasn't thinking and charged at the other. And was hit by a wall.

Nikki had saw how Lillian's blind eye lit up when it happened, and saw it light up again with her next attack. A bolt of lightning races out of her focused on fox and the three men behind him. _Their metal..._she realized. It had attracted the lightning and had blocked the rest of the group, who couldn't heal.

_GET BACK! _She mentally screamed at them and hoped they understood. She watched as Fox got up from his knees, and began processing the situation. Lillian seemed to have new powers, on that the X-men didn't know and couldn't counteract. Stryker seemed to be still during Lillian's attack, meaning there was a possible telepathic connection between the two so Stryker could control the girl.

If that was so...

She watch as Harley, this time with his father behind him, made a move for Stryker. Another bolt of lightning struck them, putting them on the ground. She had sensed it this time; a thin thread connected the military man with Lily. She focused on it, but it fade. _Next time,_ Wolf thought. _Next time._

(X)

"You can't win this fight," Stryker laughed. "So give up. But, before I have you killed I want to thank you for bring my favorite experiments back to me. Victor, Logan, and your little bitch friends."

Rage sparked through Fox. The thing inside of him surged and something told him not to fight, but something else said otherwise.

_Fight it, boy, _a gruff voice instructed. _Don't let it take control._

"I don't know what you did to her," Harley growled getting up. "I don't know what you did to Nikki, James, Victor, or Dad. I don't know if you've done something to me before. But now, it's time to burn."

Fox snatched the bag of incendiaries off of his bag and threw it down. The canisters inside exploded into flames. He stood there; his costume was lined; it was fireproof. The others' were too, but they still covered their faces. Harley stood there, letting his gloves burn off, exposing the second set of claws.

"DIE!" he charged at Stryker, who ducked. Harley jumped over him, grabbing his neck and throwing him. A laser beam hit Fox and sent him flying into a wall. Wolverine took his cue and rushed at Lily with Nikki, who seemed reluctant. Sabretooth grabbed Fallout and threw him at Stryker who was 'ported out of Fallout's reach and behind the group.

Lillian appeared beside him and glowered at the group.

_Harley, _Nikki called. _There's a link..._She brought the awareness of it to Harley's attention. _Together we can shatter it._

Fox processed this as he watched the other members of his team fight for their lives. Nikki came up beside them. He nodded.

_Change of plans,_ Fox grimaced. _James, Logan, protect Nikki. Victor keep Stryker distracted. Lil's mine._

It would take a miracle for this plan to work, but if it did...

Wolf knelt beside him and started to focus on the psychic link. Fallout and Wolverine had backed to the them as Fox strode forward. Victor stopped his attempted attacks at the evil man and growled.

"Usin' those 'new' claws?" Stryker mocked. "Shouldn't be hard to learn from this little cat."

"Shut up," Victor growled.

"What, doesn't he know?" Stryker fake shock. "Victor, not telling the _cub_ you raised what your relationship with him is."

"I'm gonna-" Sabretooth lurched forward, but a thought from Harley held him back.

"I going to kill you," Fox whispered fiercely. "I hope you enjoy it."

_GO!_

Victor took no time to attack, swiping at Stryker. Fox ran to Lillian, who balked. Who to defend, her or her captor? Harley tackled her and held her wrist above her head, using his knees to pin her legs down.

Behind them, Logan and James were dealing with a troupe of soldiers that had came to join the fray. Nikki had dropped to all fours and was gasping; it took a lot.

_Help...me..._Harley received and began to focus on the link as well.

Victor soared over them, thrown by Stryker.

"What are you doing?!" he screamed. He pushed Fox off of Lillian, whose face was scrunched up.

Harley never broke his concentration.

_Harley, fight,_ The Professor broke in. _I'll help Nikki._

_Harley, I have a plan, _Oliver broke in. Harley listened to it carefully; it was dangerous, it could mentally damage all of those in the psychic web, but to hell with it.

_Be careful, _Xavier cautioned.

_NOPE!_ Harley began to laugh inside. James would actually met Oliver for once.

(X)

Harley stood up, eyes blazing blue and Nikki was envious of his dual-focus. But that wasn't it. She saw no sign of her friend in... in... in that husk of a boy. Fox snarled and rushed at Stryker, with Victor behind him. The swipes and jabs of the two males were undisciplined and ruthless. Fox's metal claws sliced at the military man's side as his other hand came up with nail claws and were brought down, leaving shreds of flesh hanging from Stryker's face.

Victor had impaled both his hands in the man's trunk. Fox pulled away and Victor threw Stryker away from Lillian where she was still on the ground.

Around Wolf, James and Logan had killed the other men and were standing beside her, one of them watching theirs backs, James, and the other clenching and unclenching his fist, itching to join the battle.

_Profess... Professor?_ A small voice cut in. It was Lillian.

Nikki gasped and pushed harder, with Charles and Harley pushing as well. But that couldn't be right; Harley was fighting... He would need to concentrate on one or the other...

_Oh, my God, _Lillian gasped. _He's..._

_Split himself,_ Charles explained. _Now come on, dear girl._

With final brain-breaking push, Lillian sat up and was free from what ever mind control she was under.

"NO!" Stryker scream as if he was in pain. "You have severed our connection."

He stood up and his two attacker backed away from him.

"I'll deal with you myself," he murmur and then pulled out a syringe and injected himself.

_We need to leave, _Harley ordered. _NOW!_

But his physically body refused to move.

Victor didn't seem to hear the psychic focus and was focus on Stryker, who was getting up shakily.

"Ya won't touch my cub again," Victor ran towards Stryker.

_Sabretooth, no!_ Several people thought. Nikki thought she caught Logan and Charles in the mix.

My _cub?_ Harley pondered. _What makes me... how does that...WHAT?_

The minute Sabretooth touched his would-be victim, a explosion sent him flying back.

"You think I wouldn't save something for myself?" Stryker smiled evil. "I knew you were only a dumb animal."

Fox had stood in position and observed the situation. His blue eyes narrowed.

"What makes me 'your cub'?" Fox asked Sabretooth with a coldness in his voice. It was the first time Wolf had heard him speak when he was like this.

"You were never told," Stryker laughed. He seemed to have gained control through the mayhem. The others, James, Logan, Nikki, and Lillian gathered themselves, standing and preparing for a fight.

"He was supposed to have found out 'bout by now," Sabretooth growled.

_I...I forgot your present,_ Harley stammered.

"But you didn't tell him," Stryker's grin broadened. He thrust out a hand as Victor made a move forward, stopping him. He looked at the others gathered. "Harley was an experiment. Kayla, my only _living _mutant, was impregnated with Wolverine's DNA. The child was forced upon Victor, who was to raise him into a killing machine, but he failed.

"We wiped the boy's memory after nine years of living with Victor and after a year of attacks and other incidents, from _this animal_-"

He clenched his hand and Victor began to roar in pain.

"It was figured best to hide Harley, or Oliver as he was first called. We wiped his mind, this time we had a telepath, who manipulated a family into believing the boy was theirs.

"The telepathic influence, is the most likely cause of Oliver's telepathy on his cells, but this... this purely logically side would have been a benefit, if he was properly trained."

Here, Stryker took the rest of the group in a telekinetic grip, sparing Fox.

"I thank you, Lillian," he snarled. "For bringing me new specimen."

_OLIVER, NOW! _Harley screamed.

Fox's body moved quickly and in sync with his mind. Stryker's mental defenses had fallen so Harley attacked his mind, while Oliver struck with claws, impaling the man through the chest.

The others were dropped.

"Let's move," Fox growled as he took the lead and lead the group out. They had made a good distance, before they heard a voice of the loud speaker.

"Self destructing in: one minute."

"Fuck," Harley growled. His eyes had faded back to brown. "We need to hurry."

"What the hell was that?" Logan asked. "Is...was Stryker telling the truth?"

Silence was his answer. Harley's eyes hardened and sharpened to icy blue as they ran.

"Yes," he finally growled as they turned a corner. "I saw it in his head."

Nikki whimpered; what was going on? She sniffed to try and get a scent on Harley, Creed, and Logan. Anger, rage, and confusion met her nose. And...and

"Stryker," James growled stopping and turned around.

"Let's go, boy!" Logan yelled, but he, too, stopped. Lillian froze when Harley did.

"Babe... We have to leave," she told him touching his shoulder. "Before things get bad."

"Ya'll go ahead," Harley said firmly. "There's something I need to do."

"T-minus; 40 seconds," the voice reported.

"We ain't leavin' -" Logan tried.

"Go!" Harley roared with a scary ferocity or his small build.

With a doubtful glance, they did.

Harley waited before Stryker appeared. His shirt was in tatters and his pants had several rips, but the hatred in his eyes remained.

_Sharpen,_ a metal pole flew itself into Harley's hand. He sliced it in two halves and gave each a pointed end. In each hand, he held a half. He continued to stand there waiting.

"I hope you've enjoyed yourself, Oliver," Stryker said, enraged. "This is one experiment I won't mind ending."

A red laser blasted past Harley's ear and hit Stryker in the chest. The man was sent flying into a wall, getting buried by rubble.. Harley remained poised.

The makeshift blades in Harley's hand flew out of them and towards an approaching Lillian.

_Ready?_ She asked.

_You?_ Harley readied himself, popping his claws.

_Si, _She nodded.

Stryker emerged from the mound of concrete. Chunks swirled around him and launched themselves at the young couple. Harley sliced through them and Lillian shot more beams.

_Lil', now,_ Harley signaled. Harley was propelled forwards and began to slash at Stryker, who grew claws similar to Sabretooth's.

Suddenly, Stryker grabbed Harley by his face and threw into the wall that the older man himself had hit. Harley hit it hard and slumped to the ground, dazed. Stryker set his eyes on Lillian and started to her, but she grabbed him in a telekinetic bubble, lifting him off the ground. Bolts of a purple energy buzzed into existence and began to pelt and shock her captive. Pebbles cut through his skin and when Harley drew them, throwing knives.

"AUUGHH!" Stryker shouted, releasing his own telekinetic wave, throwing the two youngster off balance. Stryker landed on his feet and turned to Harley, who was still behind him.

"Using my own weapon against myself," William mocked. "How pathetic."

Harley screamed when Stryker blasted him with a laser that emitted from his eyes. The bastard had planned to use the X-men own DNA against them!

_The incendiaries,_Harley thought bleakly. If the went off...

Lillian grunted in effort and Stryker left Harley.

"What now, girl?" He asked. Lillian answered by becoming a being of fire. She shot forward, scorching the villain with a fiery punch to the face, actually knocking him backwards and causing him to fall next to a still rising Fox, who rolled onto the older man, and started going to town with both sets of claws.

Tearing, shredding, stabbing, Lillian watched all as the flames slowly dissipated. Harley stood up and where Stryker was, was a mound of bloody meat that could have once resembled a human. Harley took off his bag and threw on the pile.

"Light it," he growled. Lillian summoned a hissing ball of energy and threw on top. She glanced at Harley; his left eye was amber. They took off running.

Ahead they could see a hole, where somebody (Victor) had run through to the outside. The trees and snow could be seen and the two craved it; it meant freedom.

"Self-destructing now," the speakers said. Lillian's eye widen. Behind them flames roared in being and raced after them. Explosions elsewhere could be heard and chunks of cement fell out of the wall and ceiling onto the floor.

"RUN!" she screamed and they did. But before she could get outside, she stumbled over a rock. "No!"

"NO!" Harley yelled louder as he turned to help and watched his love be devoured by flames and then covered in concrete rocked lose. The same happened to him, but he didn't care, nor feel the pain. Somebody he loved died right in front of him.

That was the last coherent thought he had, before being crushed by debris.

It had been over two months since the raid on the military base and Harley was stilled to be found. The X-men had been watching the news and had discovered that Lillian had died. The program included an hour long list of the casualties. William Stryker was not included.

Victor had been staying at the mansion with the purpose of finding his cub.

_Heh, _my _cub, _he thought bitterly as he stalked though foliage. He had known the boy was Jimmy's, but that didn't stop him from raising the brat, and then getting protective of him. It was true. Sabretooth was charged to care and raise Oliver to be a killing machine, but things didn't go as planned...

When it was found out that Creed was taking a softer approach with rearing Oliver, a team was called and forcefully took the boy away at age nine. Victor was tortured and expelled from Stryker's black-ops, so he took to seeking revenge for taking what was his. He watched the cub, now named Harley, go through a fake life. When he had enough, he conceived a plan to reunite the boy with his memories. What a failure that was!

Victor sniffed a tree, hoping to catch Harley's scent. Nothing. Victor growled. In the time since the raid, the clearing of the wreckage, and the calming of the chaos caused, all which lasted several weeks, he, along with Logan,Nikki, and several ferals and telepath enrolled at Xavier's school, had been searching for Harley. Or was it Oliver?

Victor shook his head, hoping to organize the mess in his head to no avail. Damn it all; the mind wipes, the animal-like thought process, and everything Stryker ever did.

(X)

Logan was running. He had caught a whiff of... his son. Was Harley his son? Biological one could agree, but Victor raised him. Then it seemed he didn't when the boy mind was wiped. Logan growled. He was looking after the kid, who had his blood inside him, so he was his. Even if Harley couldn't be found, Logan knew the boy was his responsibility.

The scent was getting stronger. He had been tracking it for miles. He had caught a whiff 60 kilometer from the base and had been tracing it for days. Maybe it was time to alert the others. With Harley being so evasive something told him backup would be a must.

_I've got a scent, _he sent out.

_On our way,_ Nikki repiled. She had been going alone the past several adventures due to the fact that James had been... incapacitated by being the only Solo with over 250 hours in sessions and had to instruct other Solos through.

She was not far from Victor. Victor... That bastard had known everything since the beginning. He had even let Stryker take him. A bit of guilt flickered inside of Wolverine. No, Stryker had taken the kid with force according to Creed and both Nikki and the Professor had confirmed it to be true.

_Crunch._

Logan heard the sound of a twig breaking. 11 yards he guessed. Too close for Logan to not have heard before. He was getting soft.

He approached the sound. "Harley?"

No answer.

_Bamf!_

Nikki appeared, holding Nightcrawler's hand. He 'ported again and again, bringing Victor with him. Slowly, Hank, Storm, Kayla, and Rogue were brought as well as other students who volenteered to help.

Logan raised a finger to his lips. All nodded. Logan took the lead, with Nikki close behind him. The rest fell back.

"Harley..." Nikki whispered, pointing to the group's left.

Not moments after she spoke a dirty form leapt out to tackle Logan. He was caught off guard and, despite his sturdy and heavy structure, was knocked down. Harley straddled him with his legs and was unleashing slashes and stabs so violent Nikki blanched for a second.

Harley looked horrible. He was covered in mud, his clothes were little more than scraps that covered most of what she didn't want to see, sticks, leaves, and other forest debris were littered in his hair. The most disturbing part was the dried blood that covered him, and his mouth.

Logan finally managed to push him off.

"The hell?" he was now able to note his son's eyes. Amber.

Amber.

Amber.

_Amber, like some wild cat, or dog. _And that thought triggered a realization.

"Stay back, Logan, Victor!" Nikki shouted. "His feral side. He thinks that you're opposing alphas."

Sabretoooth didn't listen and pounced at Fox, who dodged him easy and left the older male skidding.

"Harley..." That thing wasn't Harley, it was something wild.

Fox turned to Logan who was just getting up and pounced on him.

Nikki closed her eyes and concentrated. At times it was impossible to get into Harley's head if he didn't want you there, but at the base Nikki felt as if there was a thread between the two. It was why they were in the area they were. Because Nikki felt like he would be there.

Now she was attempting to use the connection to sedate him. She pushed harder and harder, to the point she shut her eyes in attempt to focus even more. After the psychic event at the base, her telepathy seemed stronger, more manageable, but to stretch her limits like this was proving difficult.

Fox turned away from his skirmish with the other ferals and faced Nikki.

"Watch out!" the other X-men cried behind her, forgotten. No sooner had the words been spoken did Fox race to her, claws out. He reached her... And then those claws were in... in her midsection.

She gasped and shuddered, as the warm blood dug quiet, red streams in her top and down her stomach. Fox growled as if in pain.

_Was it warm? _Nikki thought. She couldn't feel it. _Why is the world so quiet?_

That was her last coherent thought as her mind flickered and shut off, and she went limp and fell backwards off Harley's claws.

(X)

Fox was pleased to feel the blood, but something wasn't right. The scent? He sniffed. And then his mind burst. It had been hurting and his primitive brain didn't know why. And He also couldn't understand why the blood-scent screamed _Save me! _Was it the people in the background hurting one of his pack?

With a growl, Fox released his hold and Harley's eyes blinked. He took in the bloodied body in front of him, recognized the face, and that was it. Plus screaming.

"No, no, no, no, no, no!" he dropped to his knees and pulled Nikki in close. He could barely hear the other around, much less see them gathering around the two friends. He observed the wounds, trying to keep his head in check, but the wounds weren't healing. They weren't healing. The voices grew louder and only two were register and recognized.

"KURT!" Harley screamed, nearly sobbing. "Take her and Hank, them back for me!"

He could barely think. He could barely speak. Everything had slowed down in his panic. A hand touched his shoulder as Kurt took Nikki and Hank and disappeared in a cloud of sulfur.

"Harley.." Storm started. "Wh-What happened?"

Harley whimpered and covered his face. He could hear the others coming up the him, silent, curious as to why he attacked.

"I don't remember," he whispered after a struggle with tears. "Lillian was there and then she was gone. Something snapped. Anger. Grief. That's all I remember until now."

Storm pursed her lips. "Lillian's-"

"Dead," Harley's voice cracked. " I know. Now Nikki might be going the -"-"

"Shut up," Logan growled. "Don't say it."

Harley sighed and lowered his hands. His eyes were red and glassy, and tears ran freely from them. But Harley pretended they weren't there. That he was fine, but there was something he needed to attend to.

BAMF! Nightcrawler reappeared with his hand outstretched.

"Take the others," Harley sounded hoarse. He was trying to keep his voice under control. "Take me last."

Storm's hand left his shoulder as she took Kurt's.

Harley watched with an uncaring detachment when Kurt came back in a puff of smoke and took somebody away in a puff of smoke. Several time somebody tried to talk to him, but as they got so far before they stopped. Harley didn't need to look up to know that Logan had given them angry glares.

Finally, one voice triggered something to the young mutant,

"Harley," Kayla approached him. She crouched in front of him and lifted his chin. His eys were filled with tears that ran down free, but Harley paid them no heed. With what seemed to be an effort he looked at Kayla.

"It's going to be okay," she comforted. "Hank's with her."

"But..." Harley choked out. He took several breaths and shook as more tears spilled.

Logan was pained. He know what it was like to have an... accident. He knew it was painful to see somebody be on the side of the claws that they weren't supposed to be on.

Harley stood and wiped his face. His eyes became a frosty blue.

"Harley...Your eyes..." Kayla pointed. She seemed mildly bewildered. Logan felt that way.

"I'm aware," Harley replied coldly. "It seems to be a power flaw."

Around the three, the forest quieted. The sun's ray danced with falling leaves to the song of the birds. But it was ignored. Logan was watching Harley, who was lost in thought, while Kayla kept looking over her shoulder.

BAMF! Nightcrawler appeared. "Kayla?"

Kayla nodded and took Kurt's hand and they vanished.

"Harley, I- you—we-" Logan growled in frustration.

"I know, Logan," Harley said absently. He did. He could hear Logan's thoughts.

_I'm sorry. I should have been more protective. I should have looked deeper into your past. I should-_

The I Should's ran constantly.

BAMF! Kurt took Logan, leaving Harley alone. The youngster took in his torn and tattered clothes and a sigh of resignation.

_Maybe it's time to go,_ he thought. He couldn't face the others. James, Nikki, or anybody who had seen what had happened.

He stood in silence waiting for Kurt. Maybe he had decided to leave Harley out in the forest to live like the animal he was? Or, maybe this was taking an eternity because he was thinking, and thinking, and thinking. He was going to lose somebody he loved. He was going to lose two valuable friendships, not to mention the respect of others.

_How unfortunate,_ a cold Oliver sneered.

Oliver. Harley knew why his 'demon' was called that now.

_But aren't you planning to leave them all? _Oliver asked.

Harley snarled.

BAMF!

"Harley?" Kurt stretched out his hand. "Are you ready?"

Harley nodded. With a BAMF! and a cloud of sulfur, they materialized in the mansion. Kurt had teleported them to Harley's room.

"Thank you, Kurt," Harley sighed.

"Anytime, mein Freund," Kurt smiled. Harley knew it was fake and didn't bother returning it. Instead he went to the bathroom adjoined to his room and started stripping. He had heard Kurt TP out as soon as he crossed the bathroom threshold.

The showers water ran from scolding hot to ice-cold. Harley ignored both sensations, cleaning himself absent-mindedly. Nobody had come to his bedroom door, but he could sense that downstairs, or anywhere else in the mansion for that matter, people wanted to.

To check on him.

See if he needed anything.

Wondering if this was going to be another chapter of his life where he had locked himself in his room again. All three mixed with each other some how. Logan, or at least what Harley was picking up from his mind, could attest. He was concerned. _Is he gonna lock himself in again? Does he have food? Is he okay?_

The thoughts were sickening to Harley, who had met the Wolverine and had come to believe he was a tough, bad ass of a man, could not believe he had softened the feral. He had fucked up everything!

Nikki and James.

Logan.

His own life!

Harley growled, but he caught himself and stopped. He needed to end this. He turned the water off in the shower and got dressed. He wasn't tired, hungry, or thirsty; even a wild animal could take care of itself.

_Stryker was right, _Harley thought as he moved about his room. _My family is just a pack of wild animals. Some just fight it._

It was a hard pill to swallow, but it was managed.

(X)

Logan and Kayla walked together to their son's room. They had just checked on Nikki, who had received a transfusion of blood from James and was recovering rapidly, due to his healing factor. It seem to be that Nikki's had taken a dip.

Logan paused at the door; he wasn't sure if he should be here right now. Kayla touched his shoulder and nodded,

"Um, kid, you in there?" Logan asked. He could hear him moving around, so it was a stupid question. "Can I come in?"

There wasn't a 'yes', but there wasn't a 'no' either. Logan opened the door; Harley was putting clothes in a duffel bag.

"Going somewhere?" Kayla asked, sweeping her eyes over the pulled-out drawers, the various objects on the bed, and the duffel bag.

Harley didn't answer.

"Kid," Logan stepped into front of him when the boy tried to go to the closet. Harley moved to go around, but Logan moved with him, finally growing frustrated and grabbing him by his shoulders.

"Let go of me, Logan," Harley looked at his feet, hiding his eyes.

"Where are ya goin'?" Logan asked. "Ya can't just-"

Logan couldn't finished that sentence. Harley stabbed his leg and Logan buckled. Kayla gasped.

"Don't get in my way," Harley said plainly. He went into his closet as Logan got up. He went around Logan and put some more clothes in the bag.

"I'm leaving," Harley says as he approaches the window in his room. "Don't try to stop me, don't try to find, and keep others from doing those two."

With a grunt, he flung himself out of the window. Logan and Kayla rushed over to see him heading to the garage and minutes later the sound of a motorcycle cranking and its engine fading out as Harley rode away.


End file.
